The Witch and The Warlock
by Primadonna MBC
Summary: For all Clu-Clu shippers... Just a dabble of one-shots that I just dream up of. It's out of control, because it's fluff (in my opinion, we all need some fluff in our life). It goes from the moment where Kallen interrupted a very special moment between Lelouch and C. C., to some scenarios I make up. Please give it a try!
1. Promises

**A/N: Okay, seriously, I just... URGH! I'm always so frustrated when I see that PERFECT moment ruined by the ever-emotional Kallen, I mean, couldn't she have waited like 5 seconds or something?! Five seconds! Not even five, more like 2! We all know what would've happened, if they had been given two more seconds alone... But anyways, I should stop ranting, or you'll never get to the story. Like I explained, this is only one of my numerous fantasies between C2 and Lelouch (they're my favorite anime couple ever!). But yeah. So, I hope you enjoy!**

The infamous Emperor of Britannia walked down the empty halls of the Avalon. Throughout the battles with Schneizel, he had struggled to keep a cool head. Not because of fear of losing to his older half-brother, but because of a certain green-haired woman on the field, risking her life for him. He had been on edge constantly, and was glad for a break, as short as it was. Getting up from his throne, he left the room while the staff bowed. He had only been half listening to Nina; Lelouch knew that it was important to listen to her, but the anxiety he felt because of the pizza-black hole wouldn't give him rest.

They finally parted ways, and fought to keep his pace normal on the way to see the woman herself. Walking into the large room, he saw her come down from the Lancelot Frontier. In a slightly concerned and relieved voice that surprised himself, the young Emperor asked, "C2, are you okay?"

"How rare. You're worried about me?" she replied.  
"As a valued combatant."

"Hmph. That's why I came to pick that up." the immortal looked towards the waiting shield of her Knightmare frame.

"Then you'll escort me?"

"So you'll head out? You might end up having to kill Nunnally with your own hands." C2 warned.

"If she is an obstacle for the Zero Requiem, then so be it."

Turning away from him, she asked in a quiet voice, "Lelouch, do you not hate me? By giving you Geass, I have drastically changed your fate."

He smiled a little at the unusual side of the woman that he had grown used to and answered gently, "This isn't what a witch is supposed to say, is it?"

At the unwonted tone of voice he used, the emerald-haired Knightmare pilot stared at him. He continued with, "C2, the Geass you gave me, what you gave me only started me down the road. Everything that followed was my doing."

Looking amused, she walked towards the monarch and said, "This is the first time that I've met a man like you…."

"C2…" he called out her name while stepping towards her. Soon, there was barely any space between them, and she looked up into the violet, troubled eyes of the Britannian. She asked, "Lelouch, are you really going to keep your promise?"

He understood what she was implying, and replied that he would. C2 studied him, and then finally ordered, "Then prove it to me."

The royal man, who had taken the task of creating a peaceful world into his hands and had bore all of the sins and hate that it earned with it, was at a loss. How could he prove a promise that he had yet to keep? Especially one that involved something abstract such as love…

The witch waited patiently, when he almost-instinctively reached for the cold hands of the woman in front of him. Enveloping them with his barely-warmer hands, he stated simply, "Your hands are cold." She said nothing in reply, and he continued in a gentle voice, "And while mine are not much better and I may not be able to warm your hands, C2, I swear to you that I will fulfill your one wish for the rest of your immortal years."

"Lelou-"

Before she could say anything derogatory (not that she was going to, but you could never tell with the witch), he bent down and captured her mouth with his own. Untangling his long fingers from his accomplice's slender hands, he placed his right hand on the back of her head and his left on the small of her back. Pushing her gently closer to him, he kissed her, as she put her arms around his neck. When they broke apart, they leaned their foreheads against each other, causing for the sovereign's hat to tilt crazily to the side. Giggling, C2 laughed at not only the improper position of the crown, but also at how sudden the kiss was and how satisfied she felt afterwards. The raven-haired man smiled contentedly, momentarily forgetting the war he had been waging.

Enfolding her graceful figure with his arms, he rested his cheek thoughtfully on the top of her head and said, "When all of this is over, C2… After the war, after the Zero Requiem, when a world full of goodwill is reborn…. We'll be together, watching the universe that we contrived."

"Thank you, Lelouch."

"For what?"

"For honoring our vow."

"But of course. After all, I love yo-"

Suddenly, a wall exploded, sending debris and dust into the air. Stepping away from each other, the Emperor yelled, "Kallen!"

The half Japanese rebel declared, "I'm going to destroy you! Goodbye, Lelouch!"

C2, who had climbed into her Knightmare, fired several missiles at the emotional teenage girl, effectively saving the life of the man she had grown to love. He ran to one of the fighting mechas, and was about to board. The emerald haired woman saw what Kallen was going to do, and ran into her, yelling, "Leave this to me! Get to Damocles!"

What she had said made the royal ruler look back in shock and say, "But you're no match for the Guren!"

"I'm glad that you care, Lelouch."

The truth in her words surprised him, and she continued while struggling to hold off the crazed redhead, "Now go, but make sure you come back! That'll make me smile, right?"

Sweeping off his head ornament, he replied with, "Yes. I promise you!"

As he left, C2 thought, 'Lelouch, that is the second promise you must keep. The first, to love me sincerely, and the second, to return so that you can fulfill the first agreement. Don't forget them; I wasn't lying when I said that I had never met a man like you before. No one else has gotten this close to granting my one, true desire.'

. . .

As he ran up the impossibly long stairs to obtain the key to Damocles, he gritted his teeth and swore that no matter what, he would live to see the witch that had mysteriously endeared her to the Britannian Emperor.

**A/N: Once again, I am teetering on whether or not I should make this a one-shot series thing... Maybe I will... Please voice your thoughts on whether I should expand this or not! I want to, but... If no one bothers to read, then it's kind of a waste of my time -_- I hope you liked it though! (But God, what was up with that, Kallen, ruining that perfectly good moment, that little...)**


	2. I Know What You've Been Up To, Lelouch

**A/N: I'm not quite sure why I wrote this... I think it was because I was writing in ****The Crazy Coup****, and it was making me a little depressed, so I hit inspiration for this, and I thought it would be interesting to let it grow and... This is what happened. I really hope you like it... It's super out of control but hey, we all need a little fluff in our lives here and there. Even Lelouch's. So yeah... I really hope you like!**

**Disclaimer: ****Code Geass**** is not my property.**

"Lelouch, could I talk to you about something? Alone?"

"Alright…."

The student council president led the way out of the room. Shirley stared after them, wondering what was so secretive that even the open-minded President couldn't say out loud among other people. Rivalz was also looking at the door they had just left. Turning to each other, they both said at the same time, "What could they be doing?"

Throwing their pens down, the two ran out after the President and the Vice President of the Ashford Academy Student Council.

. . .

They went to the fountain in the courtyard. Milly sat on the edge, while Lelouch remained standing, a little tense. The President was rarely the one to speak to individuals alone, especially calling them out purposely to discuss something. He braced himself for something absurd or scandalous, but nothing could prepare him for this.

"I know what you've been up to, Lelouch. You can try and keep it a secret, but you can't hide it from me!"

His eyes widened in shock; how could she have found out about his secret identity as Zero? He had always been careful to hide any and all traces. He knew the President was a probing person, but he couldn't suspect that she could penetrate his careful camouflaging of his true nature. A million scenarios, masquerading as an excuse, went through his head, each more ridiculous than the last. The raven-haired teenager began to panic, and his thinking sped up rapidly. In a slightly strangled voice, he replied, "Hide what?"

"Lelouch, I'm extremely disappointed in you. I thought you were a better person."

He started to say, "I can explain this to-" when she cut him off with, "You never told us you had a girlfriend!"

"What?"

Suddenly, all of his analyzations died and were replaced with:

'What in the world?!'

The blonde stood up, beaming, and continued, "Oh come on. I've seen you two together. Although it's strange; she didn't look like a regular student….. I've never seen her before."

"Wait, President-"

"Oh wait…. Maybe she's sick all the time like Kallen? But I should still know her…. Anyways, on to more important things! How'd you two meet? When'd you fall in love? Did you ask her out? Or did she? Since when have you two been dating?"

"Who?! Who are you talking about?!"

"What do you mean who?! Your girlfriend! She has light green hair in pigtails, and-"

Suddenly everything dawned on him. It was too late though; Milly Ashford was on a roll, and there was no stopping her.

Tackling him, she head-locked him and said, "My, my, never knew even _you_ could fall in love, Lelouch. Wow, that's hard to believe. So, she proposed to you, didn't she? I know you're not the type to. But why would you say yes? There are girls from _aristocratic_ families that have always been chasing after you, but why this random nobody that even _I _don't know? You _are_ together, right?"

Swept up by her excitement, he became slightly confused and answered with the wrong thing.

"Yes, we're together- Wait, no, not in a romantic way, I mean more like a partnershi-"

"I _knew _it! This is going all over the school news today! She asked you, didn't she?"

"We _both_ proposed, but it's not like that, I'm trying to tell you-" he said.

"You _both_ proposed?! How does that happen?! What, did she ask you, and then you didn't answer, but just went along with it, and then you asked her later on? Is that it?"

"Yes that is _exactly_ it, but-"

"So how long have you been together?" questioned the curious President. The Britannian prince didn't reply however, as a crashing sound was heard near them. Immediately turning to face the area behind them, Milly saw Shirley sprawled all over the neat lawns of Ashford Academy. Lelouch was still struggling to get away from the rambunctious teenager and helplessly looked on as the orange-haired girl quickly stood up and marched towards the two, yelling, "LULU!"

He cursed in his head; the situation couldn't get much worse. He was stuck because of the President's refusal to let him go, Shirley's dramatic approach she took to anything concerning himself, and Rivalz, who was freaking out, not only because he was also under the misunderstanding that Lelouch, probably one of the coldest boys at their school, had a girlfriend, while the President had yet to recognize his feelings towards her.

He finally slipped through her arm, hurting his nose in the process because of the tight space, and straightened up. The raven-haired boy said, "Shirley, it's not what you think it is."

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, IT'S NOT WHAT I THINK IT IS?! TELL ME, WHAT DO I THINK IT IS?!" the orange-haired Britannian began to freak out.

"You think that I have a girlfriend-" he began, but once again, in order to create more interesting chaos, the blonde interrupted him and added, "Oh, it's not think. He does have one. I've seen them together. She's very pretty, even though she has a peculiar hair colo-"

"SHE'S NOT MY GIRLFRIEND!" he yelled. Everyone went silent, and Lelouch continued to rant, "SHE'S NOT! SHE DOESN'T EVEN EXIST! YOU WERE ALL IMAGINING THIS! SHE. DOESN'T. EX. XIST!"

"Lelouch, I need your other credit card. This one isn't working, and I can't buy my pizza."

All three heads slowly turned to stare at C2, as if she were a ghost. The witch, who had managed to "borrow" an Ashford Academy uniform, noticed how she was being watched, and said, "Why are they looking at me like that?"

"I… What are you doing out here?!" was the only reply she received. All at once, several things happened. Rivalz, who had been standing and muttering to himself in his disbelief over the news, slumped into a pile on the ground, and was asking himself vehemently why he couldn't tell the President how he felt, when even Lelouch could confess to a girl that he had fallen in love with her. Shirley, who stared back and forth rapidly between the emerald-haired girl and her crush as if she were watching a tennis match, shouted, "STUPID LULU! WHAT DOES SHE HAVE THAT I DON'T!?" and promptly ran away in tears.

The student council President, however, was worlds away from Shirley's reaction. Grinning, she yelled, "WAY TO GO, LELOUCH! I NEVER KNEW YOU HAD IT IN YOU! WHOOOOOOOOOO!" at the rapidly retreating back of the exiled prince, who was tugging on the arm of his girlfriend, her green hair flying in their rush. She kept cheering after them. The door to the building where he lived slammed shut, in which she just couldn't resist saying, "YOU GO GET'EM, TIGER!"

'Oh, this is going to be _good_. To think, the most popular boy at our school, famous for rejecting any and everyone, is in a relationship! And some people thought he was gay!' she gleefully thought.

Then she realized the blue haired student council member rolling around on the grass, in shock, denial, and the scolding of himself. Peering down at him, she asked, "What are you doing, Rivalz?! We don't have time to be scratching our backs on the lawn! We have SCANDALS TO SPREAD!"

**A/N: I don't mean to paint Milly in a bad light. Actually, more than anything, I think she's a very lovely person, personality and physically, but if you misunderstood slightly, I meant to paint her in a way where she was going to tell everyone because she a.) couldn't believe that Lelouch had a girlfriend and wanted everyone else to know, and b.) please refer to a.) I'm kidding :) She just wanted Lelouch to stop being so grim all the time, and this is what she thought of on the fly. Is my excuse. I hope you liked it :)**


	3. Even Tyrants and Kings

**A/N: I actually have this whole folder of one-shots on my computer... And this is one of them. I actually wrote this a while ago, but anyways... I hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Code Geass is not my property.**

The Emperor went to the hangar; taking a deep breath, he thought of what he would have to do at the United Federation of Nations conference. Right now, he was the beloved monarch of justice, and in just a few hours, he would be the most hated person in the world, having betrayed everyone. He had once said, "To defeat evil, I will became an even greater evil." Now his words would become true to the point of no return. He wouldn't even allow himself to look back anymore; there was no point.

Boarding the private jet, he found C2 inside, staring out of the window while hugging her large yellow doll, earned thanks to his money and her penchant for pizza. As the door closed and he took a seat, he opened his book and began to read. The journey was taken in silence until she asked, "Do you feel no sorrow from having to turn into the most hated person in the world?"

"Why should I, when it's a small sacrifice to pay for a better world? For Nunnally's world? Besides… You and I, C2… We have always been on the outside, watching, not participating. I don't believe that I'll feel like I'm missing anything in particular."

"Such a coldhearted man…"

"Thanks to that attribute, I've made it this far, haven't I?"

She smiled and hugged Cheese-kun even tighter. She had told Suzaku that she had deserted her humanity a long time ago. She had. But ever since she had officially met Lelouch, and had gotten to know him better and understand him, she felt the humanity return to her. As gradual as it was, it was coming back to her, and she wasn't sure whether she wanted to curse or thank the boy. She snuck a glance towards him; he, who would focus all hatred on himself, he who had borne and still bears the heavy sins for his actions, he who would sacrifice his name, his face, his everything for a peaceful world, for a world that would embrace both the weak and the strong and treat them equally, he who had agreed to hand in his life for Nunnally's world, was sitting quietly and reading a book. It almost seemed laughable. How could he be so calm? Perhaps he wasn't actually reading, perhaps he was struggling with himself to resign to the end of the long, bloody path he had chosen, perhaps-

"What is it, C2?"

"It's nothing you need to know."

"As stubborn as always."

"Of course. That's why-"

"That's why you're C2."

"You know."

"How could I forget? You're my accomplice, my partner. The person who understood me, my motives, my actions, my thinking. You are my only equal."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

"During the time when the 98th Emperor locked away my true memories and replaced them with false ones, I felt anger at him, but also at myself. How could I forget Nunnally? How could I forget what Britannia did to myself, to my mother and to my sister? And how could I forget C2?"

He looked up from his book and stared at her. He repeated, "Yes…. How could I have forgotten you?"

"The power of the kings cannot be disobeyed."

"But it can. Euphemia nearly did. I did, with your help. It can be broken."

"Lelouch, if you're about to become sentimental, I'd rather you do it-"

"Thank you, C2. No. Thank you. *********. For all you've done for me."

At the sudden use of her true name, her eyes widened, and Lelouch smiled in amusement while returning to his reading. Her surprised expression soon melted into one of quiet happiness and the emerald-haired woman said after a while, "You're welcome." Lelouch showed no sign of hearing, but they both knew that he acknowledged her reply. Hiding her small smile, she rested her head on the large doll and returned to window-gazing.

. . .

On the large screen in front of the two seats, a message appeared.

"15 minutes until arrival in Japanese airspace."

"We're nearly there." commented C2.

"So we are."

She heard a page turn and debated whether or not to ask him. Scolding herself, she asked, 'Why are you so hesitant? What have you to fear from him?' Not changing her line of vision from the window, she asked, "Lelouch, are you really sure about this? Bringing only me and a few SPs…"

Continuing his light reading, he answered, "We are the ones doing the requesting, saying that we want to participate in democracy."

At his reply, she turned to him, amused. Smiling, she said, "Oh?"

"We all love democracy, don't we?" he looked towards her, also entertained by their inside joke. The moment passed however, and soon, although she hated to admit it, worry settled in. Once again, she tried to decide whether to say what was on her mind. What was wrong with her? How un-C2 could she be?

"What is it? What's on your mind?" at this point, the Emperor closed his book. A reply came, not from the witch, but from the screen. The jet's automated pilot flashed a message, "2 minutes until arrival of destination."

The witch said nothing, and he sighed and said, "If you have something on your mind, I wish you would speak now, or forever hold your peace, as I'm about to go and disrupt some peace."

He rose from his seat and straightened his robes. As he passed by her, he paused momentarily and put a hand on her shoulder wordlessly. She looked up at him and he returned her gaze. Walking away, he pressed the button for the door, waiting for the door to open and allowing him to disembark, when he heard footsteps. Smiling, he turned around and asked, "What is it that you-"

C2 rushed to him before it was too late. Walking quickly to him, she reached up and pulled him down. Lelouch stumbled backwards and pressed the button for the door again, closing it. He couldn't allow for the media to catch sight of the Emperor of Britannia kissing someone; it would be a scandal and a hindrance to his plans.

All the same however, he wrapped his arms around her and returned the kiss. When they broke apart, he looked down at her and questioned, "Is this what you wanted to tell me?"

"Be careful. Even though it's a surprise attack, it's still dangerous."

"You're just saying that because keeping me alive is priority for you."

"Yes, to fulfill our contract. That's how it was at first."

"That's how it was? How is it now?"

"I've turned more human than I have been the past few centuries because of you, Lelouch."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I love you."

He stared at her in surprise and she continued, "So be careful. It's dangerous work, destroying the world's trust and admiration for you."

"Don't be condescending towards me. I know what I'm doing."

"I know. It's a reminder. A reminder that there are still people who care about you. So be careful."

He pressed the button for the door again as C2 backed away from him, out of sight from the public. Before stepping off, he turned back and said, "C2."

"What is it?"

"Congratulations. Your wish has come true, after all that you endured and suffered."

"My wish?"

"I love you."

Amidst cheering from the watching crowd, the Emperor stepped foot onto Japanese land. The door to the jet closed behind him and he smile and waved to the throng of spectators. He thought of what had just happened inside of the private jet of the Emperor and his smile became wider.

'Yes… For even tyrants and kings, destroyers and those who reshape the world grow weary and need a companion who will stay by their side and understand them and love them. Yes…. Thank you, C2, for being my companion.'


	4. All is Good Again

**A/N: This is just… Um…. I don't really view it as one of my best pieces, but I think it's okay… Of course, I'm saying this with all of the caution I can muster at 11.42 PM right now… Happy reading!**

**Disclaimer: Code Geass is not my property.**

Calming his racing heart, Lelouch opened his eyes. The trap from the Thought Elevator had caught him off guard, and the influx of the witch's memories had shaken him. He remembered the promise he had made her; that he would become a warlock if she were a witch. The raven-haired man had only just realized how truly alone and sorrowful her immortal life had been, and there was no doubt that he was the first in her eternal lifetime to perceive it. Concerned, he questioned, "C2, are you alright?"

"Who the hell do you think you're talking to?"

Lelouch never got to answer her question; Jeremiah had caught up to them and attacked them while yelling, "It's me! Zero! It's time for you to repent!"

Impatient with Orange, he spat back, "Just give it up, damn it!"

The pair tried to navigate Gawain away from the half-man half-machine psycho, but was hit. As they felt the impact, Lelouch gasped, "Cornelia hit us there before!" C2 replied in a pained voice, "The Hadron Cannon can only be fired one more time!"

They fell towards the sea as they heard Orange crow in the background, "My fabulous revenge!"

Turning Gawain around, the witch fired the Cannon into the sea, sending up a huge explosion of water into the air. She allowed the mecha to fall back, hiding momentarily in a safe cocoon of salt water while their opponent yelled obscenities.

. . .

Inside of their momentary force field of water, it was completely calm, allowing C2 to prepare herself for her match against Jeremiah. She could tell Lelouch was stressed and frustrated because of the intruder, and she instructed, "Leave him to me. You go after Nunnally!"

The Britannian was surprised to find some reluctance to leave the immortal to face Orange alone. In slight protest, he said, "But our energy-"

Her quick reply was "I'll be fine", to which he was going to tell her to look at things rationally, when he heard her say in a gentler voice, "No. I feel a bit uneasy."

The water was rumbling all around them, but his attention was only focused on the person in front of him. The emerald-haired woman turned around in her seat to face him and said, "Lelouch, you must win. Against your own past."

She began to stand up, and he watched her with question in his eyes at her sudden change of mood.

"And against the results of your actions."

Leaning forward, she closed her eyes and pressed her lips towards Lelouch's. Shock ran through him at the sudden contact, but it passed quickly. Overcoming his initial shock, he closed his eyes and returned the kiss. Taking his hands off of the controls, he placed them on her waist, pulling her closer.

"It appears that I momentarily lost control of my emotions." he said afterwards, as they flew towards the island, momentarily finding reprieve from Orange's attacks.

"It was a nice out-of-control moment. Don't you think so?"

"It was." a comfortable silence ensued until the black prince muttered, "I can't believe it…"

"Believe what?"

"The Black Knights… Their words came true."

"What words?"

"You being Zero's Mistress. Isn't it ridiculous?"

"Who knew that sex-crazed idiot Shinichiro's ideas could become reality? What is this world coming to?" she smirked until she heard the serious tone of the Britannian's reply, "Yes… What _is_ this world coming to? It's a cruel, dark, selfish place, full of dangerous ideas, people, things, and places. Even to an immortal like you, it's treacherous. That's why…"

"That's why what?" she asked as he stepped out of their Knightmare. She maneuvered the hand he was on to the cliff besides them.

"C2, don't die."

"Who do you think I am?" she smiled at their inside joke. The raven-haired man smirked and replied, "Point taken."

She was about to leave when she called out, "Lelouch."

"What is it?"

"I-"

"I love you." he took her by surprise by his sudden brashness, but she overcame it quickly and said in return, "And I love you."

She saw him smile, not the maniacal one when he succeeded in a battle against Britannia or the fake one he used when masquerading as a harmless student, but a true smile. Full of sincerity. Just like the confession that he had just given her. It was hidden quickly though, by the mask of a terrorist, and she was brought back to the gravity of their situation.

"… Promise me one thing." she said, suddenly feeling afraid.

"What?"

"That we'll both make it out alive."

"Of course. Now go. Orange is looking for you."

They parted ways, thinking that afterwards, they would return to the final battle raging against Britannia together with Nunnally, but little did they know that their separation would last longer than a few minutes.

When C2 recovered from the lovers suicide with Orange and heard about the fate of a certain Britannian, she locked herself in their, Zero's and C2's, room. Sitting on the bed that they had shared when the campaign against Britannia went long into the night, she hugged his pillow and muttered, "Foolish boy, getting caught… You kept your promise but now I have to reawaken the demon inside of you... Now I have to reawaken Lelouch vi Britannia."

She buried her face into the pillow and wondered if he would still love her when they met again.

**About a year later**

"I can't stay for long. The Emperor has people keeping an eye on me." Lelouch pocketed the small leather-bound diary of himself.

"I know. That's why it took so long to get ahold of you. Those foolish men and women… They think that they can capture me by using you as bait..."

"Why does the Emperor want you, C2?" their footsteps echoed as they walked down the underground hall together.

"I think my question is more important than yours."

"What's your question?"

"Will you let me be caught by them?"

"I'm sure that you can elude them well on your own-"

"But will _you_ _let me_ be captured by them?" the emerald-haired woman already knew the answer, but she wanted to hear him say it from his mouth.

"… No."

"Why?"

"I haven't changed, C2. You're still my accomplice, my partner." at his words, she stopped walking.

"… Is that all you have to say?"

"What more is there to say?"

He didn't love her. She laughed at herself; what had made her nurture the foolish hope that he did? That he would? The words on Kamine Island had probably been false, a ruse to keep her allegiance to him. It wasn't as if the Britannian was a stranger to deceit.

Lelouch stopped in his tracks and then said, "C2."

"What is it?" she tried to cover up the disappointment in her voice, but failed horribly, something so rare for her.

"Disregarding the fact that you're my co-conspirator, I will never let you get caught by the Emperor."

She didn't reply but they both realized her unspoken question hanging in the air between them.

"Because you're mine."

Shaking her head, she spun on her heel to go when she heard, "Because I can't lose you."

The witch smiled sadly to herself and walked away when there was, "Because I love you."

She stood still and the raven-haired man repeated, "Because I love you."

"You.."

"I love you." he turned around to look at her.

"I heard you the first time."

"I know. But I'm saying it to make up for not being able to for a year. I'm sorry, C2, for getting caught."

Balling her fists at the memories of being left alone by him, she wheeled around and strode towards him purposefully. Lelouch said, "If you're going to hit me, I won't blame-"

Wrapping her arms around his slender frame, the immortal replied, "I'm just glad you weren't killed."

He returned her embrace and said, "I missed you."

"How can you lie so openly, Lelouch? You didn't even know I existed."

"I always felt like someone was missing though."

"You're such a liar." but she smiled all the same.

He was back. The warlock, _her_ warlock, was back. He had returned, and now, even if it was just this moment, all was good again.

**A/N: I feel like I'm writing the same idea over and over again…. I know! I should totally pull out that two-shot (is a two-shot a real thing?). Hahaha…. Yeah, I totally should. If you're curious as to what it's about, I'll give you two hints. It's titled **_**Trapped**_**. And what happens is… This is just the surface, mind you. Lelouch gets into a situation because of our favorite student council president, Milly Ashford (yet again. She's out to get him) and he has no one to turn to… Save for his witch. Like always. But this is less... Life-threatening. In a way. I mean, it's Milly, you guys… I hope you'll look forward to it!**


	5. Trapped Pt I

**A/N: Oh man, took some time, but here it is! As promised!**

**Dislciamer: Code Geass is not my property.**

Pt. I

Lelouch slipped on his school uniform jacket. He was exhausted from running around all night with the Black Knights, but as it was a school day, he had no choice but to prepare for the day ahead. C2 was still lying on the bed, wrapped in the blanket that the Britannian had been forced to share ever since she had appeared in his life. Lazily watching him get dressed, she asked, "Another day acting as a harmless student…. When are you planning of breaking your façade?"

"When all of the conditions have been cleared, and I can show the world who I really am without Nunnally being in any immediate danger. That's when. When the time calls for it, I'll shed this mask forever. Until then, I'll have to settle for this." he replied while packing his black briefcase

"Hmph… One would think you hate having a normal life, even if it is fake."

"A normal life won't change the world, C2." he countered.

"Yes, well, that's debatable."

"I haven't the time for trivial debates like that. I have to go to class."

"Only to sleep through them. It'd be better just to skip class and sleep in, Lelouch." the immortal advised.

"Teachers mark attendance. Besides, I don't always sleep through class."

"No. Although when you don't, you rarely pay attention, as I've learned."

"Even if I don't pay attention, I can outsmart any and every one of them."

"Ah ha, but you could never be able to outrun them." said the emerald-haired girl. Before he left his bedroom, the violet eyes of the exiled prince landed on the languid intruder of his life, and told her, "There's a festival today. I need you to obey me this one time and _stay inside_, witch. The press will be crawling all over campus, and if you're caught on camera, Britannia will know immediately where you are. Do you understand?"

"Yes, fine. Whatever." she rolled over so that her back was to him.

"In return, I'll give you my credit card so you can entertain yourself with all of the pizza you want."

"No need. I already took it from your wallet."

He glared at her for going through his things, but left without saying anything more. Once she was alone again, C2 stretched and wondered out loud, "And what kind of trouble shall we brew today?"

. . .

"No, the horseback riding club gets lot 46, not 23. They're refusing to change? Tell them that the student council has ordained that they get lot 46 for the festival today, and if they don't move, they'll lose half of their funding. If they're still not agreeing, tell them to come speak to one of the representatives."

Lelouch snapped his cellphone shut and rubbed his temples. School festivals were always trivial and frustrating events that simply wasted his time and energy. Although he was grateful towards the Ashford family for giving shelter to himself and Nunnally, he was always a little irritated at how they allowed a mere teenage girl make a prestigious school such as Ashford Academy seem more like a playground, and less of an elite learning institute. He stood up to walk away from the bench he had been occupying, when his dark thoughts towards the fairs the student council often hosted were interrupted by a familiar voice yelling, "Luuuuuuuuu~luuuuuuu!"

"What is it, Shirley?" he asked, donning a more pleasant voice. The orange-haired teenager rushed up to him and said, "President is looking for you. She said she needed you to do something. She's over at lot 3, the swimming club's spot."

"Alright. Who'll take the calls though?" they began to walk together in the direction of the outdoor aquatic facilities.

"Nina will. It's all been figured out." she replied.

As the two made their way to the school's pool, Lelouch inquired, "Do you know why the President is looking for me?"

She only blushed and mumbled an answer that he couldn't hear. He brushed it aside, as Shirley usually acted this way whenever she spoke to him. When they arrived, the student council president ran up to the secret terrorist and head-locked him. Spinning him around, she asked in a cheerful voice, "Lelouch, would you be a darling and help me out with this contest?"

"What… What do you want me to do?" he managed to choke out.

"The prize-giver!" she answered while lifting her two arms into the air for more pizzazz. Lelouch, finally free, took a deep breath to fill his lungs with much needed oxygen before repeating, "Prize-giver?"

"Yup!"

"The prize for what?" he took notice of how Shirley's cheeks were quickly starting to blush.

"For the diving contest! The swimming club is holding a diving contest, where the audience is going to place bets on whoever they think will perform the best. The participant who wins will get a reward from you, and whoever bet on that person will have a chance to be in a lottery to win this enormous Cheese-kun!" Milly explained excitedly.

"Alright, but _what's_ the prize?"

"A kiss!"

"What?!"

"The entire club voted on who they wanted it to be from out of the student council, and it was unanimous! Right, Shirley?" the blonde wiggled her eyebrows playfully.

"U-um, well, it just turned out like that, one way or other. You're okay with it, right, Lelou?" questioned the smitten teenage girl.

"Whether I'm okay with it or not, I'm going to have to do it, aren't I?" grumbled the raven-haired boy.

"You got that right!" exclaimed their club president gleefully. Lelouch groaned and was thankful that C2 wouldn't be there to witness the event. Shirley left, saying that she had to go change. Before the remaining two could go to their spots on the stage, the President grabbed his sleeve and said, "I didn't tell you a few things though, Lelouch."

"What is it?" he wondered if things could possibly get any worse.

"The kiss can be either on the cheeks or the lips, or the forehead, or the nose, or whatever. But you and the winner have to agree. And it's a given you have to do it on stage, so you'll have to figure it out quickly where you'll be kissing the girl. Although, I'm guessing that _most_ of them will say the lips. You're quite popular amongst the ladies, if you didn't know that already."

"And the other thing? he asked dejectedly.

"There is a case where no one will get a prize."

He saw a light in the darkness.

"What's the case?"

"If either all of the bets are equal for each contestant, or they all receive the same score. Although if I were you, I'd put my hopes on the equal bets."

In his head, the genius calculated the probability of people betting equally; it looked dismal. Resigning himself to his fate, he followed the enthusiastic blonde to the platform.

. . .

"Welcome to the Amourous Diving Competition, where the prize of the day is a kiss from our very own high school dream prince!"

Lelouch stood up from his mock throne, and waved to the cheering crowd. The President had stuck a crown on him, asking him for this one favor in order to make it more interesting, and promptly sat him down on the stage, all before he could recollect his thoughts. Below him was the panel of judges, who were seated right at the edge of the Olympic-sized pool. He found it incredibly ridiculous how his past had snuck up on him this way, but bit back any protests; he was too busy watching the counting of the bets to complain. There were 5 competitors, and luckily, they all had about the same number so far.

As the entire swimming club was performing the opening ceremony, Milly walked up to the platform where he had been forced to stay. Standing besides him, she asked, "How are you liking the presentation, your Highness?"

"President, I am just about this close to just walking off of-"

"Oh no, you can't do that. Or I'll make you do all of the clubs' paperwork and budgeting. By yourself. Do you really want the extra, tedious work, Lelouch?"

He gave no answer, and the blonde smiled. Patting him on the shoulder, she said soothingly, "Don't worry. There's a strong candidate for winning, although the audience may not know. Shirley's been practicing for this for a couple of weeks. You'll be okay."

The prince only groaned at the possibility as Milly wandered away quite quickly, knowing that his patience was wearing thin. Turning towards the betting counter, he could see the ominous numbers that would decide his fate; the bets were 64 to 64 to 64. As he looked down the row, hope rose, and he dared to think that he could come out of this without having to do paperwork or kiss someone, when he saw the last number. 63. And the gates to the pool were closing too, which meant that no one would be admitted into the audience for the competition either. Lelouch thought quickly; he only needed one more person, but who could he call that was nearby and would cooperate with him in such a strange request? He couldn't use Geass on anyone here, as it would require for him to call attention of someone, and then everyone would surely look at him when his Geass was activated; that would just evoke chaos.

Then the solution stepped into light. He frowned at the idea, but it would have to do. Taking out his phone, he dialed the number for his "home". After 4 tense rings, someone on the other end finally picked up and said, "Hello?"

"Sayoko. I need you to get C2. Right now. It's urgent."

A few seconds later, he heard her familiar, relaxed voice ask, "What is it?"

"I need you to come to the swimming club contest immediately." he drummed his fingers on the arm of the chair impatiently and saw Milly notice that he was on his phone.

"Swimming club contest? Why should I do that? You told me to stay inside today. You even willingly gave me your credit card for once."

"Forget what I said before and just come."

"But for what benefit? I have to get dressed in a school uniform and then go all the way to the pool and leave my beloved pizza."

"What do you want in return then?" the student council president was starting to make her way towards him; he didn't have time to argue with the witch. He had to get her here now.

"After the contest, I want to wander around the school grounds. And I don't want you nagging me, or putting a bag over my head, or throwing me into a truck full of tomatoes, or preventing me form enjoying the festival."

"The press will-"

"I'm completely capable of evading them."

"… Fine."

"Wow, you must really need me-"

"Just get here now!" he snapped before ending the call just as Milly came over and said, "Your Highness, please don't make any phone calls, as it's incredibly rude to the competitors and distracting to the judges."

"President, there's one more person coming to the contest. I need you to let them in. They really wanted to see the contest, but they're just running a little late."

"A friend?"

"…. Someone like that." he glanced at the huge yellow plushie sitting on a stand nearby. Hopefully, C2 wouldn't try to take it.

"Are they coming now?"

"She's on her way."

"Oh, so it's a _girl_."

"She'll be betting on Shirley." he paid no mind to her last comment.

"Have you consulted your…. "_friend_" about this?"

"Yes. Could you input her vote, please?"

"Yes, your Highness!"

He watched her hurry away, and as soon as the counters displayed five 64s, relief flooded through him. Soon, the gates began to open, signaling the arrival of C2. Their eyes met, and she began to make her way to the stage. Sitting in the chair besides him as if she owned it, she said, "Well, I'm here, as you begged me."

"I did not _beg_ from you." he leaned on his elbow while watching the diving performances with a somewhat bored expression.

"Oh, but you did. That wasn't just asking, Lelouch-"

"It's called making a _deal_, not _begging_. I am completely above begging."

"I'm pretty sure it was begging-"

"Lelouch!" interrupted Milly. She walked up to the throne for the third time in ten minutes and questioned, "Is this your "friend"?"

"I wouldn't call myself a friend to him." answered the immortal idly. She wrapped her arms around his left and asked while invading his personal space, "Right, Lelouch?"

"So…. You're the princess?"

"What?" the witch was confused; she had never said she was a princess.

"Well, your boyfriend is the swimming contest's prince, so you would be the princess, wouldn't you? Hm…. This is all a little complicated. I suppose we'll have to throw out the lips option, since the "princess" is here. The swimming club won't be happy, but… What can we do? We can't just break up a relationship because of something like this. Especially if it involved Lelouch…." thought out loud the conclusion-jumping teenage girl before walking away.

"_You wouldn't call yourself a friend to me_? What in the world did you mean by that, witch?"

"I'm a princess, right now, Lelouch, not a witch. You should pay attention more often." she brushed his cheek with her hand to taunt him further.

"How could I, when you're holding onto me like that?!" he hissed.

"Does that mean you're affected by my touch? Don't tell me you've fallen for me."

"This woman is crazy."

"Only hungry. You interrupted my snacking to drag me all of the way here. Ah, my lovely pizza… How I miss you so." the emerald-haired woman said in a melancholy voice.

"… How many did you buy since I left?"

"You'll find out, once the credit card bill comes in."

Lelouch only sighed, and C2 put her hand on his cheek, teasing, "Oh, has the savior of the world's weak, Zero, been chained down by the enormous pizza bills of his top advisor? What to do, what to do…."

. . .

Milly watched her raven-haired friend and his mysterious girlfriend from a distance. It amused and amazed her at how he reacted to her; it was different from when he was interacting with anyone else. It was as if… As if he could be himself with her, with nothing making him have to hide the truth. The student council president thought, 'It really _is_ his girlfriend! Although they should really tone down the flirting. Everyone is starting to notice.'

. . .

The prince also realized that, slowly, all of the attention was turning towards the stage. Slipping his arm from C2's grasp, he muttered, "We should really stop."

"What were we doing?" she asked innocently.

"Never mind. Just stop touching me."

"You never say that when we sleep in the same bed together."

"C2, we've been over this before. Whatever happened during that night when we were sleeping, it wasn't my fault that we ended up like that."

"I think it is. You were the one whose arms were wrapped around me like this."

Nearly rising from her chair, she embraced the Britannian, as if to show him something that he didn't know, when he already did. Irritated, he asked, "Then what about you?"

Hugging her, he countered, "Even if _I'm_ at fault, you're not completely free of blame."

"But you see, this wouldn't have happened if you had just given me your bed."

"You really think I would do something like that for you? You're not just a witch, you're also concei-"

"_Ahem_, your Highnesses. If you could keep your hands to yourselves, then the audience can pay their attention towards the public displays of _diving_, and not the public displays of _affection_."

The Britannian immediately released C2, and chose not to speak to her for the remainder of the contest, despite her constant teasing. As it went, even though Shirley had practiced longer, harder, and more than anyone else, she lost, due to looking over at Lelouch for reassurance, only to find him flirting with a green-haired girl on stage. It would be an understatement to say that she was upset; she would've rushed up to her crush, if not for Milly blocking her way to the dais.

. . .

"Lelouch." said the student council president. The sun was setting after a long day full of festivities and laughter. Knightmares were rolling around the school grounds, helping with the cleaning up of the aftermath, and had been overseeing everything. The raven-haired teenager next to her was busy skimming over the contents of his clipboard, all the while keeping an eye on his mysterious lover. The girl herself had been going around the festival with Lelouch the entire day, as he simply refused to let her out of his sight. As a result, he had neglected most of his duties to trail her around.

"Yes, President?" he answered. It had been an utterly exhausting day for him, especially with having to follow C2 everywhere, making sure she wasn't caught on camera or any suspicion from government officials and students alike.

"I didn't ask you this earlier, but you called….. Her name is C2, right? You called C2 over to the swimming contest on purpose, didn't you?"

"…. Maybe." he replied cautiously.

"Then did you ask her to come so that you could be with her, or so that she would vote, making the prize null?"

"I will choose not to answer that question." he checked something off while his eyes wandered over to the immortal, who was trying to kick Arthur away from her pizza.

"Aw, come on, Lelouch. Just a simple yes or no will do. Did you invite C2 so that you could be with her? It must be; you spent the entire day with her. It is, isn't it? You know, if you wanted to go on a date with her, you could have just told me. I would have given you a break from all of your responsibilities, and-"

"I have to take C2 home. Can you take care of the rest for me? Thanks!"

"I know you're just running away from my question, Lelouch! I _will_ get an answer from you! Just you wait!"

"Do as you please, President!" he yelled back while waving behind him. Jogging away, he walked up to her and asked in barely disguised disgust, "You ate that thing all day long, and yet, you still choose to eat it after all of this time. How can you possibly stand it?"

"You will never be able to understand my love for pizza, even if I tried to explain it to you."

"Nor do I really care to know. It's time for you to go inside, C2. I'm exhausted because of you, and I don't have the energy to argue with you. Let's go."

"After I finish this."

"No. Now."

His patience with her was already short, and with his fatigue, he become frustrated. He grabbed her arm and pulled her up, making her drop her slice of pizza. Dragging her with him, he began the walk to the student council building where he lived with his younger sister, when C2, who had gotten over the initial shock of losing her pizza, started to fight back. The witch tugged in the opposite direction he was going in, resulting in the veering into a side path. The Britannian let the immortal go and turned around to face her. In a cold voice, he said, "I have suffered and have had to make immense sacrifices because of you today. I failed to plan the Black Knight's next-"

"Lelouch. It isn't my fault if you're not competent enough to plan a strategy and explore the school festival at the same time. I didn't even ask you to follow me; you did that of your own accord. Also, it seems you've forgotten something important, but the person who called me out here today in the first place was _you_. You even gave me your word you wouldn't bother me as I went around the festival."

"That's completely irrelevant-"

Spotting a policeman, he pulled her into the shadows of the building. Pressing her head to his chest to muffle her protests, he spun on his heel so that his back was facing the sidewalk. The Britannian could hear him speaking to someone and realized it was the Academy's superintendent, or rather the man dubbed as Milly Ashford's grandfather.

C2 suddenly dug her nails into his shoulder blades and he bit back the impulse to cry out in pain; did this woman not cut her nails?!

The second they were alone again, Lelouch shoved the pizza girl away and hissed, "Did you have to claw me like that?"

"You should consider changing your cologne. It's too minty and… And… And ambrosial!" she sneezed.

"I'm not wearing cologne."

"Yes you are. There's no other way you're able to smell that nice."

"…. No, I'm not. C2, we live together. Have you seen a bottle of cologne in my room?"

"You could have hid it in the bathroom. Come here." the witch pulled him down and then delicately sniffed his neck.

"Lelouch, I wish you wouldn't lie to me. It's so obvious; you're-"

"I'm telling you, I'm…"

He realized how close their faces were and froze. Fortunately for his pride, he wasn't the only one with this reaction. After some time had passed in which he shattered the trance he had been put in, the raven-haired man muttered, "I'm not wearing any fragrances at all. If anything, _you_ should be more lenient on the perfume."

"Perfume?"

"How are you smelling like citrus after all of that pizza?" he picked up her hand and put her fingers near his nose and then moved to her wrist. She stared at him in surprise until the emerald-haired woman said, "… Unless you're going to kiss my hand as an apology for nearly suffocating me with your abuse of fragrance, I'd like to have my hand back." she was about to slide her hand out, when his grip tightened and told her, "We have to go home."

"You can go home. I'm not."

"Where are you going?"

"Worried? How strange… Have you really fallen for me?"

"… You're right. We're not going home. We're going to a mental hospital."

"… If you must know, I'm going to Pizza Hut. You made me waste a whole slice of pizza and-"

"Just order it like you always do." he intertwined his fingers with hers so that her hand couldn't slip away.

"The very reason why I'm not ordering is because I don't want you watching me eat pizza because all you'll do is complain and then try to take some from me."

"That was _once-_"

"You nearly ate the whole box by yourself."

"I think you're getting confused. I had two slices and _you_ had the remaining eight."

"It doesn't matter. I just don't-!" she gasped in surprise as the floor suddenly gave away from underneath the arguing pair. After falling for what seemed an eternity, gravity brought them crashing back onto the ground. Lelouch and C2 alike gasped from shock; in the hole that they had fallen into, there was freezing cold water. The water level was a little above his waist, but it was cold enough that it stunned him. The emerald-haired girl asked after regaining her composure, "How far down have we fallen?"

"Several meters. What is this place?"

"A sinkhole. Look, this was man-made; the walls are concrete."

"And yet, they don't put a ladder here. C2, there's no way out."

"You think I can't see that?" she snapped irritably.

He plunged his hand underwater and reached into his pocket, pulling out his cellphone. Groaning, he said, "It's dead."

"Well this can't get any worse. What are we going to do? Wait here until someone finds us? Which will be never, since the hole's on the side of a small pathway."

"Let me think."

"Your cell is dead, we're stuck in a deep hole, in which the water level is at my waistline, not to mention how it's freezing cold, and the sun is setting, which means no one will be outside. Lovely…. Just wonderful."

"Let me think! C2, shut up and let me think of something!"

She said nothing, not because Lelouch had told her to be quiet, but because she had nothing more she wanted to say. A long silence passed, until the Britannian sighed and said, "There's nothing we can do but wait."

"Can we not climb out by ourselves?" she tried to stop her knees from shivering and retied her hair into a high ponytail so that it wouldn't touch the water.

"Even if you stand on my shoulders, that's a little over 3 meters at best. I'm sure we've fallen more than 3 meters. And like you pointed out, the walls are made of concrete, and it's new enough that it's completely smooth. There's no ladder. No other place to go. It's just a hole in the ground full of freezing cold water."

"This is such a great situation we're in, thanks to _someone_."

"Are you trying to say that it's my fault?" he glared at her.

"No. You came up with that yourself."

"Witch, if you had listened to me, then we wouldn't hav-"

"If _you_ had kept your promise, then you wouldn't have had to give me that needless lecture, and-"

"I did keep my promise. But I know you. I know you and your personality, and I know your personality would land you in trouble, along with m-"

"I didn't ask for you to baby me. If anything, I'm older than you, Lelouch. By a couple hundred years."

"C2, don't resort to petty tact-"

"It's not pettiness, it's a fact. And besides, who's the one who started this whole argument?"

"…. This is exactly the reason why you always try my patience. You always act as if I'm the one at fault, that it's because of me everything goes wrong!"

C2 began to laugh, and Lelouch's scowl darkened.

"What's so funny? Is the cold making you crazy?" he spat venomously.

"You… Have you heard yourself? Have you heard _us_?"

"What?"

"We sound just like a married couple, and yet, that's the farthest thing that we are, or could be, or ever will be. This is ridiculous. Stop trying to shirk off the blame, and come up with a solution, Lelouch."

"You…."

She was still laughing, when they both heard an ominous crack. C2 stopped as her laugh echoed up into the sky hauntingly. Both stood still and silently until the immortal asked, "What was that sound?"

"… The weather forecast." Lelouch's eyes widened.

"What about it?"

"They said that it would rain tonight."

"… Rain?"

Just as she asked her question, a drop of water fell in between them. Quickly, it was followed by one more, then three, then ten, then too many to count. It was a downpour, completely drenching the two.

"Oh my God…"

"The rain's… The rain's freezing." She managed to choke out.

"It's rising."

"What's rising?"

"The water level… It… Damn it."

The water, which had originally been a little above his waist, was rapidly rising. In a matter of minutes, it had reached his lower torso. He looked at C2, who was shorter than he was.

"I can handle the water. I'll be fine as long as it doesn't go up much."

"It's already to your chest, and it doesn't look like the rain is going to let up soon. What are you planning to do?"

"I would worry about yourself, Lelouch, you're the one who's morta-"

He unbuttoned his jacket and put it over her head before pulling her closer to him and grabbing her hands. Wrapping them around his neck, he looked down at her and she inquired, "What are you doing?"

"Don't let go." he simply replied and then bent down slightly.

"What are you-"

Putting his hands on the back of her thighs, he lifted her up.

"What is this, Lelouch?" she moved his jacket so that it was covering both of their heads.

"What does it look like?"

"It looks like you're holding me."

"Excellent observation. Now we know your vision still works."

"Lelouch."

"It would be appreciated if you would wrap your arms and legs around me tighter, so it would be easier to hold you." he grunted while hitching her up higher.

"Why are you holding me?" the emerald-haired woman questioned again.

"As we were arguing, the water level rose yet again, and was nearly to your chin."

"And?"

"I'm not letting you die, C2."

"I can't die-"

"You can, momentarily, and I'm not letting that happen. I'm not going to lose you."

She studied him, and realized her heart had started racing at his words, until he continued, "Because I don't find it ideal to be stuck in an enclosed space with a dead body only for company, even if it is temporary."

She scolded herself; 'You should've known better. And why would your heart even race because of _him_?'

"Everything you do is for your convenience." she said flatly.

"And that is one of our mutual parts of our personality."

"Let me go, Lelouch."

"No."

"Why? Don't tell me you like holding-"

"C2, the water is cold. If we don't die by drowning, we're going to die because of hypothermia. Just stay close to me so that we won't freeze. I need your warmth."

"You need a lot of things from me. You need the Geass from me, you need me to stay inside all day long, you need me to tell you everything that I know, you need me to save you when you get trapped as Zero, you need me to-"

"I get the point."

C2 said nothing in retort, and simply hugged him tighter with her arms and legs. She leaned her head on his shoulder, which made him complain, "Stop that."

"Stop what?"

"You're literally breathing on my neck." he didn't add how it was making him feel more uncomfortable than he already was.

"I'm not holding my head up."

"Everything you do is for your convenience."

"You should try coming up with your own comebacks."

A long time passed, and luckily, the rain slightly relented, but the water level didn't move from its new height of being up to Lelouch's chin. Even through the layers that the school uniform provided and the added warmth of another human body, the frigidness of the water cut through clearly. C2 could feel Lelouch trembling; whether it was from the cold or from exhaustion, or maybe both, she didn't know, but for once, she felt sorry for him.

"Put me down, Lelouch." she began to badger him again to let her go.

"Stop being stubborn, witch."

"You're the one being stubborn. Nothing good will come out of this if you collapse from exhaustion."

"I'm not going to collapse. And I'm not letting you go. We're both getting out of here, C2, and we're getting out alive. Both of us."

"Is that a challenge?"

"It's a promise."

At his words, she was silenced, until she unclasped her hands from around his neck and put them gently on his cheeks.

"What are you doing?" it would be an understatement to say that he was taken aback.

"You're cold, aren't you? You're colder than I am."

"There's no need to-"

"Your lips are purple…" she resumed wrapping her arms around his neck and rested her chin on his shoulder.

"So are yours."

They said nothing, and the only sound in the hole was the pitter-patter of raindrops.

"Lelouch."

"Yes?"

"…. I'm scared."

He was surprised at her unwonted display of weakness in front of him, but said nothing about it. He wasn't quite sure what to say, when she added, "I don't want to die."

"You're not going to die." the Britannian finally managed to reply.

"Because you promised? How much longer do you think we can last here?"

"I'm not sure…"

"You don't want to die either, do you?"

"That's the second to last thing I want to do."

"What's the last?"

"Submit to Britannia."

"I should've known." she smiled softly to herself.

There was another silence, until he suddenly asked, "C2, if you hadn't met that nun… What do you think your life would have been like?"

"If I hadn't met the nun? I probably would have died."

"I mean if the event leading up to you meeting her hadn't happened."

"… I'd have helped out on the farm. Yes, the farm… And then my master would have traded me to some man for a pig or a cow or some other animal, and I would have been the mother of 5 at the age of 16. And then died a miserable death after a miserable life. And all of that would have taken place hundreds of years ago. I would have had a meaningless, wretched life, forgotten as time went by. And I wouldn't have met you."

"No, you wouldn't have had."

"And what about you?"

"Me?"

"What do you see yourself doing if your mother hadn't been assassinated?"

"Nunnally would be healthy and well. We would be a Britannian prince and princess living in a cage of lies and injustice. I would've been given a high government position from the Emperor, or put in charge of an Area. A few years later, I would be married to a corrupted aristocrat's daughter or someone of the like. Then I would have competed with my other half-siblings for the throne of Britannia. And like you said, I never would have met you ever in my not-particularly-insignificant but all-the-same meaningless life. At least, it would be meaningless because I wouldn't have even dreamed of destroying the Empire to rid the world of injustice. I would have been fine with the system because I was at the top, and would have been comfortable. After my death, I would be put down into history books, but that's all I would be; a name. I won't do that; I won't just be a name. I'll be an idea; names fade with time, but ideas do not."

"So you would rather have this life than the one you could have had?"

"In a way, yes."

"Interesting."

They said nothing, and that's when they noticed the complete silence.

"The rain stopped." the witch removed the makeshift umbrella from their heads and peered out of the entrance to look at the clear night sky.

"So it has." he sighed.

Lelouch was exhausted; carrying someone for an hour wasn't an easy task, especially if they didn't have that much physical strength, even if the water made it slightly easier. But it was the water that was the main problem; it was sapping him of energy and what little strength he had in the first place. He had almost lost his footing several times, and the only thing that had kept him from drifting into the darkness of his mind was the witch in his arms.

"C2."

"Yes?"

"I have a question for you. Will you answer it?"

"That depends. What is it?"

"Your Geass was to make people love you unconditionally, right?"

"Yes." she replied cautiously.

"And you said that as time went by, you forgot who had once loved you and who had once hated you."

"Yes."

"Then have _you_ ever loved anyone?"

The question had been on his mind as of late, but he had always pushed it aside, asking why he would wonder about such a thing. Why did he want to know if anyone had ever earned her love? Or if she had loved someone in the past, or if she could love someone now…? Why would he want to know?

He looked at her, waiting; the moonlight was shining brightly, making her seem like some ethereal being.

But she was ethereal. She didn't seem like she was a part of this world, long detached from the norm…

'But she's still human. She still has feelings.' and Lelouch wanted to know. He wanted to unearth the secrets of this mysterious woman, because he thought…

He thought that he could heal her. Just as she had picked up the pieces of his shattered self, whether it was unintentional or on purpose on her part, he wanted to do the same. Because he cared for her.

"Have you ever loved anyone, C2?"

And so, he waited for her answer.

**A/N: Okay, so... In truth, that ending part where it reveals Lelouch's thoughts wasn't supposed to happen, but the thing was getting too long, so I had to halve it, but I think... That ended pretty nicely. Be on the lookout for part 2 to see what becomes of our witch and warlock!**


	6. If It Will Ease Your Mind

**A/N: Alright, I'm sure you were expecting part two of Trapped, but it was getting to be a bit... Er... OOC. Or something like that. So anyways... This is an excerpt. Kind of. I got inspiration for this story, but then I had all of these ideas, so I wrote one of them down and created a little scene. That's why it goes ... at the end. Cause it's an excerpt. If you like it, I could expand on this and make it it's own thing. But if not, it's just for entertainment purposes (... If you like my writing, that is), so yeah. Here it is!**

**Disclaimer: Code Geass is not my property.**

"My Lord-" surprised, C2 was about to speak to her employer, when he said, "Hush."

She fell silent and then whispered, "Miss Genevieve-"

"Genevieve has gone to visit her friend. She said that she didn't want to trouble you with traveling so far, so she went alone." he kept his eyes on the door.

"I see….. My Lord?"

"What is it?"

"Why exactly are we enclosed in your study with the lights off?"

"Someone got in." the raven-haired man replied grimly.

"Someone…" shock and fear was all she felt.

"It's a relief that Genevieve isn't here and I found you in time."

"… Why-"

"I don't know. But I do know that they're men who are willing to murder for their greed."

The emerald-haired woman began to shake and he noticed.

"What's wrong?"

"N-nothing, my Lord. I'm just grateful that you would be willing to protect me." she lied.

"Of course I would be. It's going to be alright." he brushed her hair away gently before turning back to the door.

"On the count of three, you are to go to my desk and underneath, there will be an indentation. Press it, and a passageway will appear. Suzaku will be waiting at the end to escort you-"

"My Lord, are you not-"

"These fools have dirtied the halls of my estate. They'll not be let off easily." he pulled out his gun and cocked it.

"My Lord, I would like to propose-"

"You don't have to concerned over me, C2. Rather, I'm more worried about you. Don't get caught."

"Master-"

"Sh." he silenced her; they could see shadows of feet stopping in front of their door. Without making a sound, he took her hand and backed away slowly. Half-embracing her, he murmured into her ear, "You'll be safe, C2. Suzaku is an exceptional fighter."

"But then who will protect you?"

"I'm well-known for my knack with the firearm."

"Master Lelouch, please come with-"

"There's no need to worry, C2. Now go."

"But-"

"…. Then if it will ease your mind… I propose a contract to you."

"A contract?"

"If you and I survive this ordeal, then I will allow Genevieve to go to the ball, consequentially allowing you to also partake."

"And if we don't?"

"Well… Isn't that punishment enough?"

"Master Lelouch, please, just-"

He bent down and softly kissed her.

"As a seal, for our contract. Now go." he nudged her away into the direction of the secret passageway. His hand slid from her shoulder down her arm to her hand, which he gave a reassuring squeeze before their fingers slipped away from each other…

**A/N: Yes? No? Just keep it like this? What do you think?**


	7. Trapped Pt II

**A/N: Yay, part two! I hope it'll do justice. Worked on it all day today.**

**Disclaimer: Code Geass is not my property.**

Pt. II

"Where is this coming from, Lelouch?" the emerald-haired woman questioned warily. She brushed away his damp hair so that she could get a better look at his exhausted, amethyst eyes.

"Curiosity." he murmured.

"Curiosity? What a strange mind you have…"

"Just answer the question." the witch could hear the weariness in his voice and thought, 'He is protecting me right now with all of his strength, even though he's fatigued….'

"Have I ever loved anyone…? ….. No. I've found people interesting or decent, but I never allowed myself to love someone because eventually, they would always submit to mortality, and I would have to watch them leave this world."

"How lonely it must have been for you…"

"And you, Lelouch? Have you ever loved someone?" she, of course, already knew the answer to her question. After all, she had been watching over him silently in the shadows for the majority of his life. But if she didn't keep his tired mind occupied, she knew he was going to yield to the strain he was suffering, and there was no way she could save him if he did. Not in this situation.

"… I might have, before. When I was a child."

"When you were a child…" the immortal trailed off thoughtfully.

In her head, C2 thought, 'Ah… I remember now. Euphemia….'

"But I was a child then. I didn't know what the world I was born into was like." the soft purple pools hardened as he remembered his childhood that had been wrought with devastation.

"Only once in your life? I find that hard to believe, especially such an emotional man like you."

"Emotional?"

"Isn't the love for your sister and your hatred towards Britannia driving you to don your mask as Zero and change the world?"

He remained silent, and she continued, "Surely it couldn't have only been that one time in your childhood."

"Because I have donned the mask as Zero, I haven't the time."

"Falling in love doesn't take time; it's instantaneous." she countered. In truth, she hadn't meant for the conversation to continue on the subject of his love. Perhaps it was because ever since she had officially met him, she saw the wounds in his heart and felt a need to heal them. Why? 'Because he's like you.' he was bitter and angry at the world, just as she had been. And she knew how lonely it was to be in his position, where he was trapped everywhere he went, where no one would bother helping him, simply because they didn't understand, nor wanted to come to understand. But she did; she knew and she understood. And she wanted to help him.

"Or perhaps I just haven't met someone worthy."

"Worthy? Worthy of what?" she gave him a strange look.

"Having my adoration. They would have to be someone who I understand. They would also have to understand me perfectly, like two counterparts made just for each other… I've yet to come across someone like that. They would have had to lived years and years to have enough wisdom to see the way I see things."

"Years and years…."

"Do you know someone like that, C2?"

She almost replied with, "Yes. Myself." when she luckily stopped herself in time. She snuck a glance over at Lelouch, whose face was difficult to see in the dark, but she could just barely make out a smirk and realized he was teasing her.

"I can understand now why Shirley is always squealing your name every five seconds." she rested her chin on his shoulder again and played with the ends of his damp hair; 'He should to get a haircut soon.' she thought.

"Not every five seconds." honestly, it felt more like three seconds to him.

"Yes, every five seconds. You know, she-"

"Likes me? I do know."

"Why haven't you done anything about it?" bored, she stopped fiddling with his hair and simply tightened her grip on him. He hitched her up, sending ripples throughout the freezing water before replying, "What would I do? Establish a relationship with her? I don't have the attention or time for something as trivial as that, unless she's planning on joining the Black Knights."

"You're such a cold, heartless person."

"Besides… I don't see her as more than a friend."

For some strange reason, she felt relieved at his answer. No more than a friend... She had nothing to worry about. Smiling, she said, "Lelouch?"

"…. What is it?" the Britannian told himself to focus on C2's voice so that he wouldn't give in to his fatigue. He had given her his word that they would both survive. He refused to be unfaithful to the promise.

"Are you scared? Are you tired?"

"Not particul-" he began to lie, when she cut him off, "Not just now, but in the future. Does the path you've chosen bring you fear and exhaustion?"

He said nothing and she spoke in a gentle voice, "If it does… I'm always here."

"You?" the teenager was surprised by her sudden change of mood.

"Yes."

"Yes… You were always there, and you will-"

"Always be there." she finished softly. The emerald-haired woman ran her hand through his hair comfortingly, until the exiled prince spoke this time.

"C2."

"What?" she tightened her grip on Lelouch; it was so, incredibly cold, and she was also starting to become sleepy.

"I'm sorry."

The apology echoed in the small enclosure, reaching up into the night sky.

"For what?"

"For dragging us into this mess." he replied.

"…. It's not entirely your fault."

"Oh? You're not entirely blaming it on me?"

"Yes, I know… You would think that I would, but… No. Not this time."

There was another silence.

"Lelouch."

"…. What is it?" he had closed his eyes to rest them momentarily, and found himself dangerously slipping away from consciousness.

"Lelouch, don't fall asleep on me."

"Why? Because you'll drown without me?" he smiled sleepily.

"No. Because you'll drown. Lelouch, don't fall asleep whatever you do." the anxiety the immortal was feeling strengthened and she straightened up to face him better.

"C2, do you really think I could sleep in all of this water?" he mumbled.

"Lelouch, I swear to you, if you fall asleep, I will never forgive you."

"Since when have you ever forgiven me for anything?"

She could see his eyes fluttering, and he shook his head as if he were trying to shake off his weariness. His eyelids came dangerously close to closing, and the witch threatened, "Lelouch, if you fall asleep, I'm going to get off and just drown."

"C2, that's an empty threat. You told me you didn't want to die. Besides, you're immortal. You're not actually going to die."

She watched him struggle with his sudden drowsiness from being somewhere cold for so long and she frantically thought of something that she could do. He couldn't die on her; that would mess up everything. He couldn't die; he shouldn't die. Because he shouldn't leave her all alone again.

"Lelouch."

"How many times are you going to call my na-"

She leaned in and kissed him. All sleepiness left him immediately and he stumbled backwards, running into the concrete wall. When the emerald-haired woman broke away, he said, "Why did you do that?"

"It woke you up, didn't it? You should thank me."

"Thank you for the kiss?"

"Yes."

"In your dreams."

"At least you're not dreaming right now though." she straightened his jacket that was hanging around his shoulders as the raven-haired man leaned against the wall and readjusted his grip on C2. She rested her head on his shoulder and they stood in silence until she asked, "Do you long to be normal, Lelouch? Earlier today, you told me that being normal doesn't change the world, but wouldn't you rather be in a glass box, unknowing and powerless, at peace with your life until you die?"

"… Why are you asking me this, C2?"

"I long to be normal. So I didn't have to suffer what I did, suffer through what's happening now, so I won't have to suffer what will happen in the future. So that I wouldn't be cursed and have to watch from afar. You won't believe it, but I used to be a very agreeable person. I was kind and amiable…. Sweet-tempered… But I lost it all to time. Everything, I lost to time, save for my youth. It never goes away. Like a sickness. Like a curse."

As she continued her musing, Lelouch listened to her carefully. Her arms wrapped around his neck tighter and she buried her face in the crook of his neck, and that was when he realized that she wasn't clinging to him for her life, but rather, she was embracing him. He was surprised to feel something wet sliding down his neck, and it dawned on him that the emerald-haired woman was weeping.

"C2."

"…. What is it?" she wiped away a tear.

"You told me that if I were ever to become weary and tired from the path that I had chosen-"

"I would be besides you."

"If you ever become lonely, I'm with you. You chose to come with me down this treacherous path. You took my hand. I have yours. You're not alone."

She smiled sadly; yes, she wasn't alone… Until this man would succumb to a mortal's restrictions. Then she would be alone again.

The witch felt the warlock take her hand gently from around his neck and brushed over her cold fingers with his lips.

"You're not alone. I will never leave you."

"Is this a promise?" how many promises were they making to each other? And how many would be broken, she wondered.

"A promise and a contract."

"A contract…"

"We'll seal it."

"How? Are you going to shake my hand?"

"No. We'll seal it with something much more binding. Much more personal, since this is a much more personal promise."

"I don't like bringing emotions into contracts and promises. Someone always gets hurt in the end."

"That's why I'm saying that I'll protect you and pick you up if you fall." he traced the trail the tear made with his finger as he looked at her. She could tell he was being sincere.

"… How would we seal this… Contract?"

"With a-"

Abruptly, a flashlight interrupted their conversation; both cringed from the sudden light, but were grateful; it meant that someone was there. Someone had found them. And sure enough, there was the night watchman, peering down into their prison. C2 waved and suggested, "The first thing to do would be to get a ladder."

They were saved.

. . .

Lelouch pushed off of the wall, on which he had been leaning on for support, and waded his way to the ladder.

"It's chilly, isn't it?" he joked.

"How can you kid about this?"

"Why can I not? We're not trapped anymore."

"… Aren't you even worried?"

"You're climbing up that ladder, so I'm not worried about anything." he put her hand onto one of the rungs.

"… Lelouch, don't-"

"I won't. Now go. It's the least you could do, especially after I found out where all of the pizza goes." she glared at him and turned to go when he put his arms around her shoulders. Putting his jacket around her, he said in a much more gentler tone, "Now go."

Nodding, she slipped her arms through the sleeves and began her ascent.

. . .

Lights blinded Lelouch as he dragged himself out of the sinkhole. Not even caring how it was undignified, he was on all fours on the ground, trying hard not to shake from exhaustion and cold. All around him, paramedics, firefighters, and the police, were creating a ruckus. Almost immediately, a small group of paramedics swooped down on him, but he pushed them aside. Ignoring the growing crowd of students held back by authority, the paramedics, and his weak state, he began to shoulder his way through the swarming mob of emergency responders.

Dodging and ducking past people, he searched frantically until he saw her wrapped in multiple layers of thick blankets and towels while sitting on the ground. Pushing past the men and women surrounding her, the Britannian knelt in front of the emerald-haired woman, flooded with relief.

Cupping her cheeks with his hands, he said, "You're okay…"

"Of course I am. But you aren't. Lelouch, you're soaking wet. Why haven't you allowed the paramedics to help you?"

"It doesn't matter. It's only water, it'll dry."

"And you'll get a cold. Come here."

"What?"

"Come here." She opened up the fortress of blankets and pulled him inside. Sitting in his lap and leaning against him, she closed her eyes and sighed, "You're surprisingly warm."

He didn't reply with words, and instead, pulled the blankets tighter around them. The prince thought she had fallen asleep, when he heard, "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For not letting go."

"… You're welcome." he smiled slightly, proud that he had been able to endure.

'But of course… If it was for her, I'd be able to endure anything.' he thought as he wrapped his arms around her, as if saying that they were safe now.

. . .

"Lelouch?"

"What is it?" he was sitting on the sofa, nursing a steaming cup of tea that Sayoko had prepared for him.

"… You never finished telling me."

"Telling you what?"

"How would we seal the promise?"

He turned towards her; for once, she was wearing more than just his dress shirt and was burrowed in his duvet that had been replaced with a much thicker, winter one. She placed her hands on the warm water bottle that was heating her feet, but never took her gaze away from him.

Standing up, the raven-haired man walked towards her and sat down on the edge of the bed. He replied, "Well, what do you think it is?"

"… If it's something personal… Wouldn't that also mean intimate?"

"… It could be." he turned to completely face her.

"And it has to be something that can easily be done here or in that hole we were stuck in."

"You're on the right track." his face inched closer and C2 tried to maintain her calm while continuing her deduction, "So obviously, it's a ki-"

Their lips met, at first hesitantly, and then, as they came to terms with their respective feelings for the other, they let themselves go.

. . .

"Are you going to make me sleep on the floor again?" he played with her hair as she curled up closer to him. Both of them were underneath the blankets, warm and tired, but content.

"Never."

"Oh? I thought you said that men slept on the floor."

"Not my man."

"So I'm yours?" he smoothed her silky green locks fondly.

"How does it feel to be someone's possession?"

"… I really think that it's the other way around."

"There's no need to worry. I take good care of my things when I want to. Cheese-kun knows. Right, Cheese-kun?" she put the plushie in between them, as if it were their child. Lelouch grabbed him, and before C2 could react, threw it behind him.

"Why did you-"

"It was in the way." he simply said while pulling her closer to him, if that were even possible.

"Was it really?"

"Yes."

"… I was wondering how long it would take for you to get rid of him. After all, you're not one to let things get in your way."

They both smiled as they drifted off to sleep, much closer than they had been when the sun had risen that day. After all, there's nothing like being trapped when it came to pulling two people closer together.

**A/N: Honestly, what happened was I wrote this, but I hadn't edited it. I finished writing, and then went to edit it, and then I was going to cut the kiss scene. But as you read, it wasn't cut. I'm sorry if it sounds like a cliché plot (well, it is cliché), but I just… With the personalities of C2 and Lelouch, it just seemed more legit that he would kiss her under the pretense of a contract (shrug). That, and it's cute, LOL. Anyhow, I hope you liked it! (BTW, there's a poll on my profile, regarding my next story. Not a one-shot, but a legit story, so if you'd like to have a hand in helping me decide my next project, it'd be greatly appreciated!)**


	8. The Folded Message

**A/N: Let me tell you a little about what happens when I come home from school… Firstly, I eat a very small snack (my lunch is at 11, and I get home at like 4! It's crazy, what they make us do on an empty stomach), and then I go do my homework. Sometimes, I get a little bored, but I toil away anyways. Then I get sleepy, so I take a small nap, which takes me right to dinner time. So I eat dinner. And just as I'm about to finish my homework… I throw my hands up into the air and say: oh, screw this. A tiny one-shot won't hurt anybody. Which gave the world this tiny, very cliché creature. I hope you enjoy though~**

**Disclaimer: Code Geass is not my property.**

"It's Zero!" the spectators lined down the street gasped at the sight of the rebel.

The masked vigilante stood proudly in the middle of the road, wordlessly challenging the demon emperor of Britannia. Lelouch, looking completely furious, stood from his throne while the terrorist ran towards him, dodging bullets and men alike. Pulling out a gun, the raven-haired man spat, "You bastard!", only to have the firearm fly out of his hand.

Pulling back, the symbol of justice prepared to end the tyrannical reign of the demon emperor.

As according to plan, C2, the newly-crowned empress of Britannia, rose from her seat and embraced Lelouch, in an attempt to protect him.

As the sword ran through her, she gasped and shuddered at the pain. The raven-haired man wept angry tears as he held her limp body in his arms, just as the blade impaled him.

Voicing his rage and agony to the world with bone-chilling screams, he tightly embraced the emerald-haired woman who was already gone from the world.

He stumbled forward, the fatal wound's effects finally setting in.

The two sovereigns fell, smearing their blood all over the banner of Britannia.

"… Big brother?" Nunnally's chains rattled as she dragged herself to the dying man. Shocked, she began crying as she realized what he had done for her. Realizing his plan and motivation, she began to wail in lament as the world cheered at the death of the demon emperor and witch empress of Britannia.

In his last moments, Lelouch grabbed the hands of his witch and squeezed tightly; they were finally here. They could be free now.

**A week later**

Footsteps echoed in the mausoleum as a hooded figure made their way to the two sarcophagi. From a window on the roof of the spacious burial chamber, light from the moon spilled down, shedding an ethereal light on the enormous coffin.

Removing his cloak, Jeremiah Gottwald used all of his strength to slide the stone lid off of the large stone casket. When he had finally slid it off, he peered down at the two occupants of the tomb; they looked perfect. Their bodies hadn't decayed at all; the half-man, half-cyborg felt awe and wonder. These two weren't dead… They were merely in slumber…

Backing away, he knelt with a flourish to begin his vigil; he was fortunate though, as he didn't have long to wait. Jeremiah heard rustling, a sharp intake of breath, and a groan, which made the corners of his lips turn up.

Smiling widely, Orange looked up to see his master sitting upright in the sarcophagus. C2 was besides him, and she questioned softly, "How are you feeling?"

"There's a… There's a scar. I can feel it." the Britannian pressed his hand gingerly on his chest.

"The wound that activated your Code… The one injury that will never fade, no matter how much time passes. Welcome to the accursed life of immortality, Lelouch."

He only continued to clutch at the spot where the healed laceration was and said nothing.

"Jeremiah." a pair of golden eyes turned towards him.

"Yes, your Majesty?"

"…. You've done well."

Orange smiled proudly, tears welling in his eyes from the emotion running through him.

"Thank you very much. I am honored, Majesty."

"Lelouch. It's time." she placed her hand on his shoulder to call his attention back to reality.

"I know." the raven-haired man turned to face her. Hugging him, she said, "Together then."

"… Together." he whispered while leaning into her warmth.

They were about to leave the 99th emperor's tomb, when something caught the Lelouch's eye. He stopped and C2 looked back at him, wondering what it was. There was nothing left for them here anymore.

"… She… She still… She loves me."

"Of course." the witch replied gently.

"She loves me, C2."

Tears of relief and happiness flowed down from his eyes as he cradled the fragile paper crane in his hands. From the mere presence of the small origami, Lelouch understood Nunnally's message of how she was sorry, of how grateful she was to him, of how she would miss him terribly. Of how she loved him.

"No more tears, Lelouch."

He smiled tearily as he placed his most valuable possession safely into the folds of his crisp, snow-white clothes.

"No more tears." he promised, and he took her hand. And so, the witch and the warlock took their first step together.

**A/N: Don't forget to vote on what my next project should be! It'd be a great help! Thank you for being such a wonderful patron! I love you all; you're the only thing that gets me through the school day :P Until next time then!**

**A/N II: Hmmm... I don't know why, but I feel like I should write a tragedy next... What do you think?**


	9. She's My-----

**A/N: One of the three requests that YiLuLu303 asked of me. It's in C's World, Turn 15, when C2 was about to give her Code to Charles… It's the infamous, "She's my…" scene. Yup. That's right, Clu-clu shippers, one of the **_**most**_** frustrating scenes in the whole two seasons… Second only to the scene that Kallen freaking interrupted later on… You know what I mean. But anyways, I think it turned out okay. I had to change a few things in the scene, but otherwise… I hope you like it!**

"The people who hated me, the one who were kind to me… All of them eventually vanished in the flow of time," C2 sighed remorsefully, "In the endless flow of time…"

"But now, those days of torment…" the witch looked up at the Emperor and into the violet eyes that were so familiar to her.

"Yes. Now it ends… My long journey…" she leaned on him, preparing herself for her long-awaited death.

Suddenly, there was a brilliant flash of light appeared, momentarily blinding the witch and the emperor.

"C2!" the one person she didn't want to see in her last few moments… Lelouch's voice rang out, full of distress. Shocked, the immortal straightened up; what was he doing back here? She thought she had locked him away in the memory museum, out of harm's way.

"You've opened it, Lelouch! The Thought Elevator!" Charles vi Britannia, ruler of the largest empire in the world, turned his attention to his exiled son, "Lelouch, sit where you are and watch!"

The monarch grabbed the emerald-haired woman's arm and brought her closer, to begin the passing down of the Code. Lelouch could only sit, trapped in the Shinkiro. He could see how the inheritance was beginning and desperation filled him.

"Stop it!" he demanded; he was so full of fear that it was the best he could come up with on the spot.

"What does it matter to you? You, who hides behind a mask like a coward! Who uses people's lives like a pawn in some game! Why would you care about a trivial witch?" Charles questioned; the exiled prince wasn't one to be so stubborn over losing someone. Not after the multiple lives that stained his hands with blood.

"Because she's my…" what was she to him? What was she to him that he was trying so hard not to lose her? Why was he so distraught over the mere thought of losing her? Because… Because… He was taken aback by the answer he finally uncovered, but he swiftly overcame the shock, "She's my…" would he say it? _Could_ he?

"It's too late for you to do anything, Lelouch. C2 has already decided to-"

"You're right. It's too late. C2, it's too late! It's too late; I've already beaten the Emperor! _I've already granted your wish_!"

"What-" she stared at the mecha. She hadn't given the curse of immortality to Lelouch because… Because she couldn't bring herself to… She cared for him too much to force him into such torture… No. She loved him too much to bring such everlasting pain to him… But now, here he was, claiming that he… That he…

"I love you, C2!"

Her eyes widened as he declared, "I, Lelouch vi Britannia, love you! And in doing so, your wish has been granted! Your _true_ wish!"

"Foolish boy! This is why you're not fit for the throne, nor ever will be! You allow your emotions to cloud your judgment, and-"

The raven-haired man ignored the sovereign and persisted, "C2, I've said it before and I'll say it again! You're mine! All of you is mine, just as I am yours. So please… Don't leave me!"

"You…" she felt the delicate wall around her carefully guarded heart shatter with the words, "I love you!"

"C2! Don't tell me you believe him! He's a liar! He deceives even Nunnally, what makes you think that he's not lying to-" the witch pushed away, closing off her Code as she ran away.

"Lelouch may have lied to every single person who's trusted him, but he has never lied to me."

"C2! Lelouch, what have you done?! Does your foolishness know no bounds?!"

"Foolishness?! This isn't foolishness! You would _never_ understand why I'm protecting C2!"

"You insolent-"

Explosions went off, as the Sword of Akasha began to crumble. Gasping, C2 began to freefall. Lelouch swept towards her, leaning out with his hand stretched out, in a dangerous attempt to catch her. Wrapping his hand around her wrist, he pulled her into the Knightmare frame. Embracing her, he made eye contact with the Emperor, who was completely enraged at the destruction his own son had brought to his dreams. He closed the cockpit and held on to the witch, who was unconscious. Entwining her fingers with his own, he closed his eyes shut as they left the Thought Elevator. When they had returned to the real world, he looked down at her, flooded with relief; he had saved her. He had rescued her; the warlock had protected his witch. Pressing her to his chest, he told her, "You're mine and no one else's, C2. After all… You're my witch, the one and only woman I would ever love."

"You're my witch, ******." he murmured, before kissing her on the forehead.

**A/N: I left her real name blank because there's been debate that her name is Cecilia, Cera, Cecaniah, and Elizabeth (at least, those are the most popular theories), so I just left it up to you to decide what Lelouch called C2, since everyone's preferences are different. I hoped you liked it! (Truth be told, I wrote this at 5 in the morning). 'Til next time then!**


	10. The Switch

**A/N: Hey everyone. I had this idea a few weeks ago, but I was a bit scared to put it out on the World Wide Web, but… Here it is…**

**So basically, this scene was inspired from Euphemia's death scene (I cried during that part… She really didn't deserve it… She was so kind, but… ****sigh****). And so it brought to mind what it'd be like if the roles had been switched, where Suzaku and Euphemia's roles would switch with Lelouch and C2 respectively. And this is the end product. So… Yeah. I hope you like it!**

Lelouch could only stand there, horror splayed across his face as blood dripped down from his fingers to the floor. The red liquid stained his clothes, but he couldn't care less. Lloyd and Cecile stared at him in shock before rushing forward to help him. Taking the limp body from his arms, they immediately rushed the dying woman to the emergency medical quarters.

. . .

The raven-haired man sat outside of the operating room, head in his hands. Struggling to control his panic and frantic emotions, he shook as he begged, as he _prayed_, to someone, to _anyone_, it didn't matter who, to just save her.

When the doctor came out, the two scientists stood up and looked at the surgeon with hopeful expressions, but the physician removed his mask and simply shook his head apologetically. Numb with grief, Lelouch dragged himself into the large, white room, only to nearly fall from seeing C2's paling body underneath a white sheet.

Cecile removed the glass covering and the breathing aid for him before wordlessly leaving the room with Lloyd.

The Britannian sat in silence, besides the witch, trying to control his breathing, when he heard, "… Le… Lelouch…"

"… What is it, C2?" he tried to swallow his tears.

"Lelouch, why is… Why is everything so white?" her golden eyes looked past him and around at the medical instruments, "Where am I?"

"Somewhere safe. You're safe now, C2." his face contorted and he blinked, trying so hard not to let a single tear fall in front of her. Turning her attention back to him, she smiled wryly at him and questioned, "Isn't it so pathetic? After all this time… After all of this time, I never got my wish…"

"No! No, you did. You did!" he shook his head furiously.

"I did?" her eyebrows furrowed, confused by his protests.

"Yes!"

"… Who?"

"Me! I love you, C2! I love you! So don't die. Please, just don't die. Here, I'll… I'll return your immortality to you, just… Just don't die, C2. Don't leave me here, don't go somewhere where I can't reach you." with a shaking voice, he pleaded to the emerald-haired woman, who only replied in a surprised tone, "You love me?"

"Yes! Yes, I love you! I love you, despite your penchant for pizza, the way everything you do is for your convenience; I love the smile you have when you're amused by a joke that only the two of us could understand, I love how you hug me in your sleep when you have nightmares. I love you for understanding me and for being with me. I love you for being _you_, C2, so please… I'm begging you. Don't go. Don't leave me." hopelessness turned his imploration into a desperate whisper.

She laughed weakly, "You're crying. You foolish, weak boy."

Raising a deathly pale, shaky hand, she placed it on his cheek and murmured, "You're so warm…"

"C2, I swear, if you die, I'm not going to be able-" his tears slid down, disappearing between her fingers.

"When did you begin to love me?"

"…. When you went to see Mao. I realized how precious you were to me."

"You acted as if you hated me though."

"I'm as stubborn as you are, C2."

"Ah… I should've known…" she closed her eyes, and he ordered, "C2, listen to me. Listen to me! I need you next to me. You can't die. You must not die. C2, don't die on me!"

"… You should have told me earlier, idiot. Then I could have told you this at a better time."

"Wha-"

"I love you, Lelouch."

Weeping, he grabbed her hand.

"C2, don't leave me. I'll have no one to turn to, to comfort me. To smile with me. C2, I have no one but you; please don't leave me…"

"Ever the child…"

He only gripped her hand tighter and she asked, "Lelouch, can you do me one last favor?"

"It's not the last one. It won't be the last one."

"Can you prove to me that you love me? That you love me sincerely?"

He didn't reply and she whispered, "Don't cry…"

"#######, I love you." he said quietly before kissing her. When they broke apart, she wiped away the water on her face and complained, "You cried all over me…"

"C2, I-"

"It's much better." she gave him a small smile, and his heart twisted at the possibility of never being able to see it again.

"Better?"

"Than the last time you addressed me like that. You've found the missing warmth."

A sob escaped from his lips as he said, "C2, don't die. I order you not to die!"

"How many times do I have to tell you that Geass doesn't work on me?"

"C2, don't-"

"I'm sorry. For not being able to be with you for the rest of your journey. I would have liked to have seen your vision turn into a reality."

"C2, you _will_. You _will_ see it, just-"

"I love you, Lelouch."

Inhaling shakily, he yelled, "NO! _No, don't say it like that_! Don't say it like you're saying goodbye! It's not a goodbye, _this isn't a goodbye_! C2… C2, you have to get up and take my credit card without my permission and order ten boxes of pizza a day again! You have to sleep next to me, taking the entire blanket for yourself even in the middle of summer! You have to… You have to make your snide comments again, make insides joke with me… You have to be here! With me! You… You promised me you would down the path I chose with me, _I_ promised _you_ I would become your warlock, I promised… _I promised you a happy future, a future where you're loved_. C2, don't die! Don't die, God damn it, don't! Don't leave me like this, C2, not- C2! _No_! No, no, no, no, no, no, no, _NO_!"

The doors slid open and the medical practitioners tried to pull Lelouch away from C2's still body. He fought them and kept howling, tears streaming down his face.

When he had been pushed outside, he fell to his hands and knees, shamelessly crying. Covering his head with his hands, his heart-wrenching screams echoed in the hallway as he voiced his unfathomable grief, denying the truth's existence.

"No… No, no, no… _C2_! C2, you liar! _You deserter_! How can you do this to me! How can you… You traitor, you… _*******_!"

Trembling, Lelouch continued to shed tears, cursing the day that his witch had left him, cursing the person who had stolen his love from him… He got up shakily, and with a malicious look in his eyes, he swore to catch the person responsible for her death and to inflict the pain that he was going through… The furious raven-haired man growled, "Suzaku… Suzaku, I'm going to take what's most precious to you as you have done to me…"

He hissed, "I'll make you suffer, just as C2 suffered, but I will never… I will _never_ allow you to die. After all… After what you've done… Death would be too kind of an act for you."

**A/N: I think it would be fair to tell you guys this… Recently, I've been considering terminating my account of . It's just that… I feel like I've lost my "touch" to write stories (if I even had one in the first place). Like… For instance. The last chapter… I didn't like it. I hate it. Maybe I should rewrite it… Or maybe I just shouldn't write at all. I've been thinking about it, and I've asked my friends what I should do, and well… I don't know. The verdict is out. But I just thought it would be fair to give you guys (particularly the people who are nice enough to read my fanfictions) a heads-up. 'Til next time then.**


	11. The Fleeting Goodbye of An Enduring Love

**A/N: Okay… I'm not exactly sure whether I really want this out on the World Wide Web or not… It's kind of a… Graphic(?) scene. Is graphic the right word? I promise you, there's nothing sexual about it…. Er… Unless you count kissing sexual. Anyhow… The reason why I published this is to tell you guys something very important:**

**I caught a cold. Like, my nose is dripping, I'm burning up (at least, I feel like I am), I'm sneezing every three seconds (okay, that's an exaggeration), and I have this completely aggravating and painful sore throat. So… Updates will be even slower (if possible) than before. Until I get better.**

**And I'm sorry about the A Thousand Cranes thing. I went home and was like: alright, I'm going to finish it up and publish it! And then promptly took a three hour nap (going to school with a cold can kill) which then led to me having to do my homework. So I'm sorry.**

**One more thing; when I was writing this, I was listening to "Portuguese Love Theme" from the "Love Actually" Soundtrack. Now, normally, I'd be like: listen to the song while reading, but I'm kind of on the fence whether the song fits or not with this chapter. So… It's really up to you on this one.**

**Disclaimer: Code Geass is not my property.**

She couldn't remember the last time she had felt like this.

This feeling…

In what previous lifetimes had she experienced it?

Who were the people, now long gone, who had once been able to erase away all other thoughts in her head as they swept her away into emotions from the likes of fairy tales?

Rather, what was the name of this unfamiliar sentiment?

Ah… Now she remembered.

She unearthed the name of this strange emotion, this…. _Foreign_…. emotion, from under an eternity of loneliness and pain.

This… This was passion.

'No… This isn't passion. This isn't love. This is lust. This is carnal, not romantic. Never romantic.' she lied to herself. She had foolishly believed these falsehoods, or had tried her best to; anything, to avoid the reality of her true feelings.

But she still allowed herself to enjoy it. For when else would she experience a kiss such as this, with so much… Emotion?

Her hand tangled itself in his silken raven hair while the other grabbed his shirt, in a desperate attempt to bring him closer.

But it was impossible.

He was already holding her to himself to tightly… So closely… That she could feel his heart racing in sync with hers.

His mouth left hers soon, and she silenced the disappointment in her heart. Opening her eyes slightly, she was about to say something to him along the lines of, "thank you", when he bent down and nuzzled her. She arched her neck, electricity running through her from his gentle touch.

Brushing his lips on the porcelain skin of her neck, he made a trail of feather light kisses, starting from her collarbone all the way to her jaw, leaving her completely breathless.

Her hand slowly closed into a fist, slightly tugging his hair, but he paid no mind. Grazing his lips along her jaw line, he claimed her lips with his own again. As their tongues joined in an intricate dance to reveal the hidden truth once more, he sighed her name.

Not the name she had adopted as time jaded her.

But her true name, her real name.

Her _human_ name.

After breaking the kiss again, they searched each other for the betrayal of their feelings. Tears streamed down her face as she realized what the next three words he was going to say. Brushing her hand down his cheek, she whispered, "Please don't say it."

He studied her with the amethyst eyes that had given her so much…

So much wonder, so much amusement, so much worry, pain, happiness…

They were two unfathomable pools of violet. She wanted to forget all she had suffered through, all that she was suffering through….

All that she had yet to suffer through.

And yet…

She couldn't.

Because they were the two mirrors that reflected her own emotions towards her, the two mirrors that reflected her devotion to him, her care for him, her concern.

Her love… For him.

The two mirrors that bore the truth that she had tried to reject.

Had tried to deny the existence of.

To protect herself.

To protect _him_.

And now these two pools of purple…

These two pitiful, pained pools of purple were weeping.

Tears fell from his eyes and down his cheeks.

On a normal day, he would have been furious. She would have teased him. They would have argued with each other. But on a normal day, he wouldn't have been weeping.

'Then again… Today isn't a normal day.'

No. From the moment he had turned around as if he knew that she was watching him at the end of the hall, to the moment right now as they desperately clung to each other for what little solace the other could offer, they had tried so hard to relay the hidden emotions, the rejected feelings, the love that they had smothered so as not to hurt the other.

Despite their attempts to shield the other though, they themselves had been harmed from their secrecy, from their quieted urges, their silenced yearning, their disciplined longing to hold the other, to kiss them, to tell them-

"I love you."

She could barely see clearly with the tears streaming from her eyes, but the rivers never ceased, for it was the only way she could express the infinite sorrow she felt. He lovingly traced the river's path with his thumb as he held her face in his hands tenderly, as if holding a baby bird.

"I'm sorry for not telling you sooner. I thought… I thought that if I didn't, then the only one who would get hurt was myself. But it appears… It appears that my thinking was short. So I'm sorry."

She shook her head, refusing to accept his apology, his feelings that had been buried for so long…

His farewell.

For this wasn't the opening of a new chapter.

It wasn't the dawn.

It wasn't a hello.

It was the closing of a book.

It was the last sunset before eternal darkness.

It was a… It was…

"It's unfair. How can you tell me you love me and then leave me so quickly? Why could you not have told me sooner?"

"For such a long time, my heart ached for you, but I did nothing. I said nothing. I refused to hold you, to kiss you, to… To face the truth… Rather, I hid behind a lie like a coward because it was easier… And now, it appears that I'm paying the price for my cowardice. With regret."

"No coward is willing to carry a burden for the one he…"

"For the one he treasures most. For the one he keeps closest in his heart," he embraced her tightly, "For the one he loves."

"Don't leave me… Please." she grabbed fistfuls of his shirt and leaned into him, her tears soaking his garments, "Don't leave me here… I can't… I can't lose you. Not you."

He smiled sadly and wrapped his large hands over her delicate ones and whispered imploringly, "I have to go."

She shook her head as the tears began to fall faster.

"Please… Let me go."

"No! No. I can't do that. I won't allow it, I… I… I just… Why must you leave me so soon?"

"I'm sorry." he smiled sorrowfully while lovingly tucking her hair behind her ear, "But I have to."

He gently pulled her hands down so that she was no longer holding onto him. Not moving his hands away or his gaze, he said steadily, "I love you. I always have. And I always will."

"Please don't leave me. It doesn't matter if-"

He gave her another kiss, a fleeting goodbye of an enduring love before slipping away from her forever.

She fell to the ground and began to wail, cursing the gods, cursing this world and its inhabitants, at how greedy they were, to have taken him away from her. She sobbed over her lost love and how tragic their story was. How tragic their story had been. And how only tears had come out of their time together, from the tragedy that was wrought in their story.

She voiced her distress over losing the one person she truly cared about after all of those years, the loss of the one person who had made her smile after all she had suffered through, the loss of the one person who had said that they loved her.

This immortality… This accursed immortality.

She wanted nothing more than to rid herself of it. She wanted nothing more, than to join her beloved in the place that she had been barred from for several centuries, she wanted nothing more…

Than to be with him no matter the place, even if it were the pits of hell, for she loves him, and he, her.

Never again would she ever love someone as deeply as she loved him, nor would she ever find anyone who would be able to make her feel the things that he had, would never be able to love her, as much as he had loved her.

**A/N: Somehow… I feel like that was really, super cheesy… And I just know one of you is going to leave me a review saying: yeah, that was cheesy. But anyhow… Notice I didn't put any names at ALL. I don't know… It just seemed like using, "Lelouch", "C2", "witch", "warlock", "raven-haired man", "emerald-haired woman", "emperor", etc. just didn't feel appropriate. Like… It was too personal of a moment to use names… Might've just been me thinking that though. But anyways… About the termination. I saw your… Thoughts on the announcement, and I would be lying if I said it didn't break my heart. Thank you (sincerely) for the support. I really do appreciate it. A lot. Heck, I even took a screenshot of your comments, and I look at it when I feel myself teetering on the edge of the cliff. So… Thank you.**

**On another note; I am one of the people who believes that Lelouch was on that cart at the end and he's immortal and living happily with C2 (as you can probably tell from my other fanfictions, particularly A Thousand Cranes), but I just thought… This would be a… Nice(?!) tragic exchange between the two if he hadn't gotten Charles' Code (which he did). So yeah… I do believe that he's alive! So no worries there, if you were like: is she changing her mind about Lelouch being alive at the end?!**

'**Til next time then~**


	12. Love Is A Riddle Pt I

**A/N: I was going to save this for White Day but… I can't wait that long. I'll just come up with another story for White Day later on, in like February. I just wanted something light, after the previous two chapters, cause they were filled with tears to the brim. So without further ado…**

**Disclaimer: Code Geass is not my property.**

Pt. I

"Suzaku."

"Huh?"

"… What would you give a girl on White Day?"

The brunette looked up from his homework to stare at his Lelouch, who was sitting on the sofa. The Britannian noticed the sudden attention and glanced up from his book.

"What?" the exiled prince turned a page, feeling slightly uncomfortable by the way his friend was looking at him.

"… Why… Would you ask about a White Day present?"

"… Am I not allowed to ask?"

"No, it just…" Suzaku scratched his head, 'It just doesn't seem like the type of thing _you_ would ask."

"… Well, if you must know, I want to give Nunnally a present for White Day."

"Ah… That makes more sense. You nearly scared me for a second… I thought you were going to give some girl a White Day gift without telling me." the Japanese laughed somewhat uneasily. Two violet eyes stared hard at him and the nervous chuckle died immediately. Straightening up in his seat, he thought aloud, "Well… If it's for Nunnally… Then maybe a stuffed animal! I think Nunnally would like a cute bunny or a cuddly panda."

"No. No stuffed animals." the Britannian replied with so much force that his fellow student council member became slightly startled.

"Uh, okay. So no stuffed animals… What about a cell-phone charm?"

"That doesn't work either. She doesn't have a cell-phone, and I'm not getting one for her either. I know she'd only call one place, and if she could contact them from wherever, it'd just be a headache and an empty wallet for me."

"… A necklace?"

"Not the type to wear jewelry."

"… Lelouch?"

"Hmm?"

"… Are you sure it's for Nunnally?"

"Of course I'm sure."

Suzaku looked at him skeptically, when the door slid open, allowing Rivalz to come into the student council room.

"Hey, what's with this atmosphere?" the senseless blue-haired teenager looked back and forth between the other two boys.

"Well, I was brainstorming White Day gifts." replied Suzaku.

"Why?"

"Lelouch asked."

"… Why?"

"To give to…" he was about to reply with, "Nunnally", when he caught himself and finished with, "To give to someone."

"Huh. Well, do you want me to help?"

"I'd like that a lot. He's so picky."

"… I can hear everything you're saying." he cursed; had he been too obvious? How did he figure out it wasn't for Nunnally?

"So you don't know what to get for a girl… I was wondering when this day would come for you, Lelouch."

"What do you mean by that condescending tone?"

"Since this is a pretty difficult question without a clear answer… Let's break it down. Does this girl have any particular interests?" Rivalz took a seat by the Japanese and twiddled his thumbs, enjoying Lelouch's dilemma.

"Pizza. And nothing else."

"Take her out to pizza then?"

"She eats pizza everyday with my money."

"Then… Well, tell us about her, Lelouch. What's she like?" both were eager to hear about this mysterious girl who had captured their friend's cold heart.

"How do I describe her… Well, she's not easy to figure out."

"So she's kind of mysterious?"

"I guess you could say that."

"Is she cute?" they simultaneously yelled.

"No! She's the farthest thing from cute." the speed of their question unnerved him.

"The homemaker type then?"

"Not. She's lazy; never lifts a finger."

"… You sure she's the right girl for you?" asked the blue-haired teenager.

"You don't deal well with people you can't count on." added Suzaku.

"True. She causes endless problems for me. Her clothes are a mess, she's stuck up, selfish, and she's always stuffing her face with junk food. But-"

"But you love her." finished Rivalz.

"… I never said that."

"Lelouch, if you're giving this "stuck up, selfish, problem-causing" girl a White Day present, then you're in love with her." the soldier smiled.

"Wow. I guess even Lelouch could fall in love. What's next, is the sky going to fall now?"

"What-"

"Do you have any ideas though? All you've done is heard our ideas. What about yours? Knowing you, you'd have plenty." Suzaku intervened.

"That's right. Come on, Lelouch. What have you thought of?"

"… It was particularly difficult, considering her personality."

"And so? What'd you come up with?" coaxed his boyhood friend. The raven-haired boy was about to reply, when Rivalz spoke up, "Wait! I know! You can get her lingerie!"

"… Rivalz, I think you're pushing your luck." the brunette nudged his friend.

"But why not? I mean, every guy wants to see his girl all sexy, so-"

"Rivalz!" whispered Suzaku. He glanced at Lelouch, who looked like he was trying to control his temper.

"Then maybe a video message telling her how much you love her!"

"Rivalz, maybe you should let Lelouch talk."

"Oh… Um. Okay."

"Lelouch?"

"Never mind. It was stupid to-" he put his book down and crossed his arms.

"No, it wasn't. Come on; if you don't ask us, who are you going to consult?"

"He's right, you know." Rivalz hoped the vice president wasn't too angry with him.

"… Champagne and caviar."

"Champagne and caviar?"

"Of course it's something like champagne and caviar. Why don't you settle on that? If you think the girl will like it, that is." the Japanese thought that the discussion was over, when Lelouch pinched the bridge of his nose and muttered, "… Her personality is so bizarre, I can't predict what her reaction would be. Which is the reason why I can't decide."

"I think that she'll be happy no matter what you do."

"Huh?"

"Just my thoughts."

"Suzaku is right. It's the thought that counts, right Lelouch?"

"… I suppose so." he replied hesitantly.

"Then go for it! Get the champagne and caviar!"

The raven-haired man only frowned slightly and then left the room, signaling the end of the conversation. Rivalz shoved his hands in his pockets and said, "By the way, Suzaku… Do you know who the girl is?"

"… I don't know. Lelouch lied to me in the beginning, saying that it was for Nunnally. But then he started rejecting a bunch of ideas, saying that "she" wouldn't like them, even though they were clearly things that Nunnally would have liked. So I just assumed that it was for a girl."

"Hmm… A White Day mystery! We should hide this from President, shouldn't we?"

"That'd be for the best… You know Lelouch. We don't know what he would do if we leaked this out to her…"

. . .

"Onii-sama, what's that wonderful smell?"

"Hmm? It's just a little treat I'm making, Nunnally."

"Is it for White Day?"

"… Yes." he carefully put the bottle of champagne into the bucket full of ice.

"C2 is such a lucky girl, to have such a kind and loving boyfriend."

"W-what?"

"Please have fun with her! I know she'll enjoy what ever it is that you've prepared for her!"

"W-wait, Nunna…" but she had already left the room. Sighing, Lelouch returned to the dish. After furiously researching when the emerald-haired woman had been occupied with sleep, Lelouch had settled on a bottle of Batasiolo Moscato Rose champagne and a smoked salmon and caviar pizza. More often than not, while he was secretly looking up recipes or when he had snuck off of campus to buy the champagne, he had asked himself why he was going through all of the trouble. It was only White Day. He had passed the event as if it were another normal day for his whole life. So why was it that he was going as far as preparing a gift? Particularly for her? The answer was beyond him, and it was the type of puzzle that he preferred to push into the back of his mind, so, although a week had passed since his consultation with Suzaku and Rivalz, he had yet to solve the problem.

"I smell pizza…"

Hearing C2's voice, Lelouch immediately clamped the silver domed lid of the platter over his creation to hide it from her.

"Where are you hiding the pizza, Lelouch?" the emerald-haired woman crept into the kitchen, following her nose.

"I'm not hiding pizza."

"I can smell it. Where is it?"

"It's-"

"It's in there, isn't it? Foolish boy. You thought you could hide it from me? I-" she tried to slip under his arms to lift up the lid. Lelouch shifted his weight so that he was blocking her and replied, "I'll give it to you. Just go sit down."

She looked at him suspiciously and he added, "I promise. Go sit down."

The witch slowly walked out of the kitchen, but not before giving him one last look. The second she left, the Britannian breathed a sigh of relief; she hadn't seen it. Just as he was about to uncover it, he heard, "Just give me one piece and-"

"C2! Sit. Down."

"You're going to eat it all by your-"

"I won't. Do you not trust me?"

"… I'm going." she finally left him alone, allowing him to finish putting the final touches on his surprise for her.

. . .

"What's that?" she was sitting in one of the patio chairs out on the balcony. The candles flickered in the gentle spring breeze, and Lelouch couldn't help feel a little proud.

"What does it look like?" he moved the covered platter, dishes, glasses, and bucket onto the table.

"Champagne?" she raised an eyebrow.

"I thought it would go well with this." he lifted the lid, allowing a cloud of steam float into the air, the scent of gourmet pizza wafting in the air. Taking the bottle from her, he opened it with a pop and poured the sparkling golden drink into the two glass flutes. Taking a seat across from her, he handed her her goblet and said, "Bon appetite." before raising his glass to take a sip. C2 stared at him and he asked, "What is it? Do you not want the pizza?"

"No…"

"Then what-"

"It's the first time."

"What?" he looked out onto the campus below them, the sun setting majestically.

"… It's the first time. That someone's done something like this for me."

Surprised, Lelouch looked at her, only to see tears welling in her eyes to his growing alarm.

"C-"

"Thank you." she smiled at him and he was taken aback by his initial thought at seeing the corners of her lips tug upwards. A warm feeling had spread in his chest, and he couldn't stop himself from returning her smile. Turning back to the sunset, he let his thoughts wander as the witch began on the pizza, both content.

. . .

"Lelouch."

"Hmm?"

"… Why did you do this? It's not like you to do something like this suddenly."

"It's not, isn't it?" he nonchalantly swirled his champagne gently.

"No, it's not.… Is it a reward?"

"A reward? No. It's not a reward."

"… Then is it because you're trying to pay me back for giving you Geass?"

"No. Nothing like that."

"… Then… Is it because it's White Day?"

"White Day? Hmm… I suppose so."

"… Lelouch, do know what it means when a boy gives a present to a girl on White Day?" her dubious tone of voice wanted to make him laugh. Instead, he opted for a slight smile.

"Of course I do. It's impossible not to. President and Shirley always pushes me to do something on White Day."

"… Then…"

"Well, the best way to look at this would be… As it is." the raven-haired man set down his glass.

"Don't talk in riddles."

"Speaking of riddles… Don't you think love itself is a riddle, C2? No matter how much I ruminate on it… It never makes sense. I can't predict it. There are no rules. It truly is, "all's fair in love and war". Or else how can it thrive, since it doesn't follow any patterns?"

"Lelou-"

"It's my answer to Valentine's Day. As tradition calls for… I've decided to reply to the chocolates I received on that day… And I chose you, C2. Yours was actually the only I ate that day… That is, before you ate the remaining 8 pieces."

"Why me?"

"Who else would I pick then the one I love?" it was true; just hours before, he had wondered what in the world he was doing. But as the evening had wore on, the enigma had returned to the front of his mind, and he decided to tackle it, so as to banish it from his mind. And after puzzling it over endlessly, he could only come to one conclusion.

Strangely, he wasn't particularly upset about it.

In fact… He was perfectly fine with it.

"… You-"

"Nunnally seems to think that you're my girlfriend, as does Sayoko and just about the entirety of the Black Knights and the student council."

His violet eyes shifted towards her and, while smiling, he asked, "It started out as a misunderstanding, but… What do you think, C2? Would you like to turn it into the truth?"

**A/N: If Lelouch and/or C2 seemed out of character… That was most likely my cold kicking in. Does anyone know any good remedies for a cold? If you do, please PM me! And save the reviews for… Actual reviews of the chapter. Thank you!**


	13. The Shower

**A/N: I woke up this morning, turned over, unlocked my phone, and just wrote this using the notepad app. And this is what happened. I haven't changed anything. I haven't even edited it. It's writing in the raw… So if there is any repetition or boring stuff, then I'm sorry.**

**Disclaimer: Code Geass is not my property.**

C2 blinked, surprised. Rolling over in the large bed, she scrutinized the clock with drowsy eyes, which read: 10:49. 10:49? Why had she woken up so early?

Rubbing her eyes, she stifled a yawn, when she realized how much space she had.

She had too much space.

Especially when she had gotten into bed with someone else the night before. No matter how skinny and what a pushover he was… The bed was too spacious.

Where could he have gone? It couldn't be outside. It was too early for him to even consider venturing outside. Not with his infamy. So where…?

Ah. The shower. She could hear the water running and she relaxed. He was fine. He hadn't tried to do anything stupid out of grief, he hadn't-

There was a crashing sound and a heavy thump.

Then nothing.

Only the sound of water hitting the floor.

Uninterrupted.

C2 got out of bed and rushed to the bathroom. Swinging the door open (which wasn't locked luckily), she strode towards the wide shower stall. Opening the glass door, she ignored the cloud of warm steam that enveloped her and stepped inside, disregarding the fact that the water was still running. Kneeling down, she said gently, "Lelouch."

He didn't look up. His raven hair, wet, clung to his face, covering his eyes that were unseeing with sorrow. His face was blank, but she knew that he was in turmoil, drowning in silent self-torment.

The man hadn't even undressed properly, sitting on the floor drenched in his dress shirt and pants. Ignoring how wet she was getting and her hair that was now sticking to her face, she sat down in between his bent knees and leaned on his chest. Taking his hands, which lay dead by his side, she wrapped his arms around her and interlocked his fingers so that they were resting on the side of her waist. Placing her hands on top of his, she closed her eyes and patiently waited for him to speak.

"… She's doing well."

"You raised her well." she replied softly.

"…. I'm sorry." he choked out. She knew he wasn't speaking to her, but to someone hundreds and hundreds of miles from them, someone that they would never be allowed to meet again, "I'm sorry, Nunnally."

"There's no need to be sorry, Lelouch. You've done everything you possibly could have for her, so she could be happy and safe."

"C2, I-"

"Nunnally wouldn't want you crying. Enough tears have been shed in battle. Tears are not for peacetime. They're for loss and pain in times of struggle."

"I'm sorry, Nunnally…" his tears mingled with the warm water from the shower, as he wrapped her arms around her tighter. C2 merely hummed a soothing lullaby, and soon enough, the tears ceased.

"Lelouch…"

"… I'm ready."

"I admire your bravery, Lelouch. I know it's not easy for you."

"It's easier than it could have been because… Because I have you. I have you by my side."

"Yes, you do."

"Thank you, C2."

_I love you_.

"You're welcome, Lelouch."

_I love you too_.

**A/N: Okay, so I'm still sick. Not as much, fortunately, but the cold has yet to leave me. They should really consider searching for a permanent cure. But there's this important announcement:**

**My friend read the last chapter and said to me: Hmmm… It doesn't really seem like this is your writing. Like, your usual style is just kind of… Off.**

**As she, and Fireminer, pointed out, yes. I'm kinda out of it, I've, so to speak, lost my "touch". Or at least part of it.**

**WHICH IS WHY I HAVE NOT EVEN TOUCHED THE CRAZY COUP.**

**I REPEAT, I HAVE NOT TOUCHED THE CRAZY COUP BECAUSE I'VE LOST MY TOUCH.**

**Seriously, the last thing I want to do is wreck it, and I just know that if I publish a chapter that I've written when I have a cold, I'm going to regret it big time. So I'm sorry… I'm trying my hardest to get better! And thank you to everyone that gave me advice on how to fight this sickness! It's helped a lot! Thank you so much!**

**BTW, THERE IS AN EXTREMELY IMPORTANT POLL QUESTION ON MY PROFILE, SO PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE GO CHECK IT OUT AND VOTE!**


	14. One Summer's Day

**A/N: Okay, usually, I know my updates aren't THIS fast, even when I first started out. Truthfully, I decided to upload this because of another reason. But regardless, I hope you enjoy this!**

A tall man, whose face was partially covered by a bright red baseball cap, stepped off of the boat's plank and onto the deck. His age was undeterminable, as he was dressed similarly to a teenager with dark blue jeans, a grey v-neck t-shirt, a black leather jacket and sneakers, but carried the aura of a mature person. He looked around for a moment, the rest of the passengers walking around him who had also ridden the ocean taxi, before he joined the flow.

After going through customs, when he was out of the port, he hailed a taxi. One pulled up, and the driver asked, "Where may I take you sir, in the beautiful land of Japan?"

"It's been over a century since Japan was given partial freedom from Britannia, and yet… You're still excited from Britannia's lenience towards Japan?" the passenger questioned while climbing in.

"I can tell you're Britannian… But yes. After 8 years of struggling, Japan finally returned to her old self… Or as close as it's gotten so far, according to the records. We're still happy and grateful, even after the long time that's passed since the actual even took place."

"Interesting…."

"But where will you go, sir?"

"Please take me to your most popular shrine in Tokyo."

"Popular shrine? Hm…. Yes sir!"

As the car drove through the streets of Japan, Lelouch looked out of the window and thought, 'It's been a while, hasn't it?' Everyone that he had known before the Zero Requiem was either dead, or old, and yet he looked the same as the period when he had masqueraded as Zero. As he watched the view rush by, he thought of the event that had led for him to return to Japan, the land where he had once been exiled to.

_"Lelouch."_

_ "What is it, C2?" the Britannian looked up from the carrot he had been chopping and directed his attention to his wife of the past few decades, who had been watching TV. She stood up and walked towards the window in the partition between the kitchen and living room. Setting her elbows on the sill, she asked, "Aren't you bored?"_

_ "Of what?" he questioned while turning back to the carrot. When he heard her reply though, he stopped and put the knife down, "Of being together."_

_ He wasn't completely sure what to say, and searched himself for the correct words to say in response. The emerald-haired woman studied him, until he said, "… Are you trying to tell me that you don't love me anymore?"_

_ "No. I love you."_

_ "Then… Why are you asking me if I'm bored of being together?"_

_ "Well… Don't you want some time for yourself? To do things and see things that you can't do with me?"_

_ "Sure… C2, where are you going with this?"_

_ "I've thought of this for a long time, Lelouch, and… Let's try an experiment."_

_ "For what?" he didn't have a very good feeling about where the conversation was going. His wife sighed and answered, "Our bodies haven't aged from when we were teenagers, but the love we have for each other is now that of a middle-aged married couple. It's lifeless. Don't you remember the first few years after the Zero Requiem?"_

_ "Mmm…. Those were some…. Passionate times."_

_ "Lelouch, that's why, by next month, let's separate."_

_ "Separate?"_

_ "A month should be enough time to quit our jobs and sell our apartment, or at least get rid of it. We go our own ways, and exactly a year from that day we separate, we meet each other again, no matter what."_

_ "I don't know, C2…."_

_ "Just think about it, Lelouch. I really hope you agree to it, because I'm disappearing a month from today, whether you like it or not."_

After pondering over it, and discussing her proposal over and over, Lelouch had reluctantly concurred. They wrapped up the life that they were living at that moment, and exactly a month from when they had had the first conversation, they left each other. Before splitting however, C2 had told Lelouch, "I haven't told you the meeting place yet."

_"Where is it?"_

_ "The most popular shrine in Tokyo, at noon."_

_ "Why a shrine? We don't worship any god."_

_ "It's a place where people go to pray and ask for their wish to be granted. Somewhere that's unaffected with time in regard to its purpose."_

_ "The most popular shrine in Tokyo at noon… Alright."_

_ "I'll see you in a year then, Lelouch. Remember, no contact with each other allowed. If we ever run into each other on the streets or somewhere, we have to act like we don't know each other."_

_ "Wait."_

_ "What is it?"_

_ Reaching for her hand, he pulled her closer and kissed her. When they broke apart, he told her, "I love you."_

_ "I love you too."_

He had always wondered what she was doing, what she was seeing, where she was going…. And also speculated if she missed him as much as he had her.

"Here we are, sir."

"Your pay. Keep the change."

"Thank you very much! Have a nice afternoon!"

"You too."

Stepping out of the vehicle, he realized he was in a parking lot. Going to a map, he saw that he had to walk to the shrine itself, and set off on his journey. There were steps through a bamboo forest, and then a vast stone bridge over a wide, rushing river. Past the bridge, he could see the ornate wooden entrance gates. They were painted in faded shades of red, green, yellow, and blue, and beyond it were similar, smaller versions of it, each housing four statues of Buddhist deities. When he arrived at the shrine, he turned around to look at the four main structures surrounding him; the main place of worship where monks were praying currently, along with two smaller ones; a large temple for resting was also there, with its doors wide open, showing Britannians and Japanese alike relaxing.

Taking his shoes off, he tread onto the polished timber floor of the main temple in his socks. He could see people kneeling on the floor, bowing, praying, chanting, or a combination of the three. Silently, he searched for green hair, thinking that she would be in there. He couldn't find anything, and was disappointed. Checking his watch, he saw that it read 12.32 PM. Was she running late?

"Sir, you're going to have to take your hat off. This is a sanctuary of worship, and hats are prohibited."

Turning around, he saw it was C2. He stared at her in surprise and then immediately swept her up in a hug, burying his head in the crook of her neck, and wrapping his arms tightly around her torso. She embraced him in return, whispering, "I missed you so much."

. . .

"You look skinnier than the last time I saw you." commented Lelouch. They were walking on a path on the shrine grounds, where it was more excluded. The tall trees lining the trail reached up to the sky, forming shade throughout the entire lane, effectively blocking the summer sun from the couple. The immortal couldn't stop staring at C2; she really did look skinnier than the last time he had seen her, but not much else had changed.

"And you look slightly tanner. What did you do during the year?"

"I travelled a bit, and then I got a new job. In the country, this time."

"What's your new job?"

"World history teacher for a high school in a colonized area of the Chinese Federation."

"The Chinese Federation…"

"What about you? What did you do?"

"I also went travelling, and also got a new occupation."

"As what?"

"As a nun in a convent in the forests of somewhere inland in the European Union."

"A nun and a school teacher… We've changed a lot, haven't we?"

"Speaking of change…. During the year, have you ever met other….?"

"How could I, when I missed you everyday and thought of you everyday?"

"I'm glad I wasn't the only one feeling that way then… That would have been embarrassing."

. . .

As they began with the first emperor of Britannia, they slowly strolled down the various paintings of past monarchs of the large empire. When they arrived at the painting of Lelouch, who was sitting in his throne, legs crossed, purple eyes regal and arrogant, they stopped and gazed up at the large painting.

"Do you remember….?"

"Yes."

"I'm surprised you do."

"I know."

"Then again… It created a huge fuss."

"It did."

"How that old man kept insisting that there had to be a royal painting of the new emperor to hang in museums as a standard picture."

"As if he thought I wouldn't last long."

"Which you didn't."

"Only by choice."

"Yes. Only by choice. And how you didn't have the time to sit down for something slow and insignificant as a painting."

"So we just had to take a picture of me, and the artist had to look at that."

"It was the only way it could have happened and you went around conquering the world."

"Yes…."

He laughed suddenly, and she asked what he was laughing at.

"Look, it's the only picture covered in glass."

"It seems like you did everything correctly if people still hate you that much after decades have passed."

"But to put glass around it…."

"Well, they had to preserve the painting. I mean, how much effort and fuss were made over it?"

"That's true…"

They moved on to the next portrait, which was of Nunnally. Lelouch's eyes grew dark as he saw the painting.

C2 said nothing and gave him silence to organize his thoughts.

"When she was crowned, when she was married, when she died, everything I watched over… I think of her everyday."

"I'm sure she did the same for you."

"She did well…. My sister did well. She makes me proud."

"She was probably proud of you as well."

"…. I miss her, C2."

She said nothing and only took his hand and squeezed it once.

Taking a deep breath, he murmured, "Nunnally, it's your big brother. I came to say hello here, since I can't visit your grave as it, and my false one, is only accessible if you're royalty. I love you Nunnally, and you make me proud."

When he was done, they went to the next portrait.

"Her son…."

"Were you angry at him? For breaking your order, for escaping your punishment?"

"No. If anything, I'm glad it was him and not someone else. I trust him most with Nunnally besides myself and Sayoko. And he didn't reveal it to anyone else."

"Technically, he was your brother-in-law, wasn't he?"

"Yes…"

"What a handsome son they had…"

They looked up at the 101st Emperor of Britannia, a man with kind, piercing evergreen eyes and light-brown hair. Lelouch said thoughtfully, "I wonder what he thought of his uncle."

"If Nunnally didn't tell him the truth, then he probably thought his mother was crazy for revering his crazy, bloodthirsty, and evil uncle."

"And if Suzaku had revealed his face to his son, he would have thought his father was also crazy."

"If no one told him the truth about his uncle."

"Poor Suzaku. He couldn't even say who he was to his own son and only watched from afar."

"It was for the better. That way, no one but you, me, Nunnally, and Suzaku knows that the Britannian royal family is no longer purely Britannian."

"What scandal that would be."

"And what scandal it was. Do you remember the magazines and TV, all in a frenzy, saying-"

"who is the father of the Empress's child and is he britannian? Poor Nunnally…"

"It all became organized though after her son proved to them multiple times that it didn't matter who his father was that he was strong enough and good enough to be emperor."

"Yes… James did well."

They stared at the painting, until Lelouch spoke up.

"I was surprised when they named him James."

"Why?" But she already knew.

"When I was a child I hated the name Lelouch. It was hard to pronounce for some people and led to mispronouciations often, as it doesn't sound the way it looks. I wanted to change it to-"

"James."

"Yes. The only two who knew about the childhood wish was-"

"Suzaku and Nunnally."

"Of course, eventually, I accepted my name, but-"

"But they remembered."

"Now only you and I know these two secrets of the Britannian monarchy."

"Yes…."

. . .

Lelouch sat at his desk and began grading the tests. There was a knock, and he looked up from the papers and towards the door. In the doorway stood C2. She asked, "Am I late to class, Mr. LaFontaine?"

They smiled at each other and she walked towards his desk. Putting a plastic bag down, she said, "You're quite popular here."

"Popular?"

"Among the… Female students of this school. I came here, and one asked me why, and I replied that I had come to see you, and I swear, every single girl in the school's entrance stared at me. So the girl led me here, and along the way, word spread, and I think the entire female population of this school followed me and is waiting outside of your class."

"Well, we should leave then, shouldn't we?"

"If we can get through the mob outside."

"Oh, they listen surprisingly well."

"Only to you, I heard."

"Well…. I won't deny that."

He stood up and packed his bag. When he opened the door, sure enough, there seemed to be all of the school's girls, along with some female administrators and teachers, crowded in the hall, trying to peek in through the windows. They all backed away slightly when Lelouch opened the door, and no one said a word or made a sound. Then one brave teenager spoke up and asked, "Mr. LaFontaine?"

"Yes, Yuna?"

"Is she… Who is she?"

"Who?"

She pointed at C2, who was standing behind Lelouch. He turned around and adopted a thoughtful look on his face as everyone held their breath for his answer.

"She's my…. She's my…. What do you call it again? Oh right. She's my wife."

"Wife?!" shrieked several girls. Almost immediately screaming, whispering, crying, talking, and all manners of noise erupted. C2 almost started laughing from their reaction. Lelouch reached behind him, and took her hand.

One voice broke through the noise and said, "But no one has ever seen you wear a wedding ring or even seen any signs of being married."

"Ah. You see, my wife and I lived in different parts of the world temporarily until we had enough money to bring her here. She was in France."

"But there weren't any signs! Not even a wedding ring!"

"Oh, that's right here." He replied while digging in his pocket. He slid it on and also waved C2's hand in the air that he was holding to show the two silver bands.

"But…. But-"

"My wife…. Is a curious person. She wanted me to keep it a secret as a surprise."

"Surprise!" said C2 with a smile.

Everyone just gaped, filled with disbelief. Lelouch brought C2 forward and put both of his hands on her two shoulders while pushing her gently out of the classroom. She held both the plastic bag and Lelouch's briefcase in front of her as the sea of students, teachers, and administrators parted. When they were at the doors, Lelouch changed from his indoor shoes to his normal outdoor ones and said, "I'll see you girls Monday morning. Don't forget to do your homework!" and took C2's hand and led her out of the building. When they passed through the school gates, she finally allowed herself to laugh.

"What was that? Keep our marriage a secret? As a surprise? They'll think you married some strange woman!"

"I have though. A witch, to be more exact." If he had said it to anyone else, it would have seemed like an insult, but to C2, it was a pet name. She swatted him and he said, "Come on. Let's go home. We have some private business I'd like to attend to.

"A world history teacher…. Must be interesting when you arrive at the Black Rebellion part. And Emperor Lelouch's short but terrible reign. Hasn't anyone been suspicious?"

"Well, this one student did say one time how similar I and the terrible Emperor looked alike, but then all of the girls in the class started yelling at her, saying that I looked way better than he did."

"You just have the entire female population wrapped around your finger, don't you?"

"All but one." he replied while putting his arm around her waist, "No matter how much time I spend with her, she refuses to bend down."

"Yes, well, she's not planning to anytime soon, so… I suggest you get used to it."

"I will never ever get used to her… I fall in love with her every single time I see her."

"She's a lucky woman."

"I agree."

They walked down the dirt path, going home together for the first time in what had seemed like an eternity.

**A/N: So that was part one… Maybe. If people seem to like it, then I'll put a part two. But if not… Then it'll just stay as is. But yeah. Hoped you liked it!**

**To Fireminer: I'm really curious… But do you like my stories? I'm getting the feeling that you don't. Like… If I were to come clean, it actually kind of got me… Irritated. Because these fanfictions are like my children, and I get this sense that you don't like them very much, and now I'm getting all defensive and confronting you like this, and those of you who are reading this probably think that I'm rude and crazy, and I'm really sorry, but SERIOUSLY! Do you not like them?**


	15. I'm Right Here

**A/N: I saw this fan-art comic, and it made me so sad… But this is what I got from looking at it. Hope you like it!**

**Disclaimer: Code Geass is not my property.**

Gently, he put his hands on her shoulders. Pressing his lips softly on her forehead, he whispered her name and his confession, causing for tears to spring into her eyes.

His violet eyes were gentle with quiet sorrow as he looked down at lovingly. She wrapped her arms around him, loosely at first, and then with all of her strength, not wanting to let him leave.

"I have to go."

"She simply tightened her grip on him, afraid of the inevitable she knew was to come.

Bending down, he murmured in her ear reassuring words of strength before vanishing into a small light.

Her eyes widened as her arms fell onto her, the man now gone.

Falling to the ground, she hugged her knees to herself as she wept silently, grieving wordlessly.

The softly glowing orb floated upwards into the clouds, becoming one with the celestial gems decorating the cloak of night.

Tears carved their way down her cheeks as the cold reality slapped her once again.

In her ears, she could still hear him say, "I love you." and she hated how he hadn't waited for her reply. Looking up into the sky with tearful golden eyes, she said, "I love you too."

C2 woke up, her heart racing. She wondered what was wrong, and then realized that her pillow was wet, stained with the tears during her… Her nightmare. Thinking back on the dream that had left fresh fear in her mind, she trembled. What if it came true? What if she really was left alone again? He had promised to be with her, but what are promises in the face of Death and the fragility of mortals? It would probably happen; it wasn't as if it was the first time that it would, where her contractee succumbed to the parameters and limits of being human.

But he was different compared to them.

She didn't want to lose him. It was the last thing she wanted to do. And the mere thought of it… Frightened her.

Lelouch was strong, yes. But he was also human, a mortal. One who, in the end, could and would die. And with that act, she would be left alone, again, with no one to-

A small gasp escaped from her lips as she felt the bed shift slightly underneath her and the blanket move. She felt an arm snake underneath and around her waist and the warm and gentle breath of a sleeping person on her ear. His leg moved in between hers, tangling them, as he intertwined his fingers with hers.

"I'm right here, C2. I'll always be right here."

She relaxed, releasing the tension in both her body and mind as he promised, "I'll never let you out of my sight. And if you ever do… I'll just find you again. I'll find you and fight for you and live for you and love you."

She said nothing but he knew that she had understood and accepted his promise. Squeezing her hand gently, he murmured, "I'll be here always, right next to you. Every step of the way."

Outside, it was dark and stormy. The wind ripped umbrellas out of people's hands, the raindrops pelted your hands and face with what felt like pebbles, and it was black as ink.

But inside… With the soft glow of the lamp chasing away nightmares and darkness, the witch and the warlock lay together, sleeping contentedly, safe in the other's promise to protect them.

**A/N: Why are these getting shorter and shorter? Oh man… I'm really sorry about the length about the recent chapters.**

**A/N: Oh yeah. The fan-art was only her dream. The rest is all my idea. Just thought you should know where the credit properly goes to.**


	16. Verbotene Amour

**A/N: Hi everyone… So a few things I should point out before you go on to read this.**

**I got this idea for a story, and I considered making it its own thing but… With The Crazy Coup and If Only… Maybe not just yet. That being said, some background information.**

**This is AU. It's WWII, and Lelouch Lamperouge and Suzaku Kururugi are junior officers underneath the commander of a concentration camp somewhere in Europe (IDK, it's kind of vague). C2 is, **_**was**_**, a nun in France, but then she got dragged to one of the camps after some soldiers found out the Jewish people who were hiding at her convent. Fortunately, she was chosen to play the piano at the commander's villa. All she does all day is just play the piano, because the commander just **_**loves**_** piano music so much (that part is kinda vague and nonsensical too). Ah, and an important fact… Being from France, C2 can only speak/understand French (she can communicate using English too, but it's not her forte), and the only officer that can speak/understand French is our lovely Lamperouge (his last name literally means red lamp in French).**

**Okay, I am completely and totally underqualified to write this because of two very important factors. One, I will never be able to understand or come even close to grasping the horror and pain the concentration camps brought. So… If things seem weird or out of place or not just right… I would like to formally apologize for my shortcomings… More so, for touching on such a delicate wound on humanity.**

**Also… As you read this, you're going to notice that not all of it is in English… If you're a fluent speaker in regard to French or German, and you read it, and go: WTF that is not how you conjugate that or that is not proper grammar, I would also like to formally apologize for sabatoging your language. I give you my word, it was not intentional. I know that the best and only translator out there are native speakers but uh… I'm a little short on native German and French speakers. So I had to make do with what I had. But I'm sorry for butchering your beautiful language!**

**Disclaimer: Code Geass is not my property… But this story is.**

"Dumme mädchen! All of you scum are completely incompetent! All you do is waste resources! Why, even the very air you breath is wasted on you! Little bitch! I have had enough! Kururugi! Where is my whip?!"

"S'il vous plaît, Monsieur, s'il vous plaît! Please, I beg of you, please have mercy on-"

"Shut up, whore! Kururugi! My whip!"

"Sir." the brunette handed it to his superior, who snatched it away. Grabbing the French woman by the hair, he was about to drag her out, when the officer, who had been silent the entire time, said, "Sir, allow me to execute the punishment."

"What?"

"Surely, you must not be seriously considering doing it yourself. She is far beneath you. Allow me to do so."

"… Very well, Lamperouge. 50 lashes on the back. After all, we still need her alive."

"Yes sir."

. . .

Outside, it was pouring. The muddy ground squished under Lelouch's boots as he marched the crying woman to the stage. In front stood the hundreds and hundreds of women who had been unfairly persecuted, all deathly silent, not even daring to bat an eye.

Stripped of her thin dress, she was roughly tied to the thick wooden post, her back facing her audience. Drenched, she kept silent and merely closed her eyes, waiting for the first lash.

Lelouch unrolled the whip and shook it out, the nine leather strips rustling against each other. Tightening his grip on the handle, he fixated a blank expression on his face. Apologizing to her in the privacy of his mind, he pulled his arm back to begin her punishment.

She shuddered as she let out a scream, pressing herself to the post. Squeezing her eyes shut, she whimpered as searing hot pain bled into her. Before the agony had faded away completely, the tails fell upon her bare back again leaving red marks, excruciating pain, and blood. She gasped as tears sprung into her eyes, as she desperately tried to hide herself from her torturer.

Stoic, Lelouch was the perfect picture of a composed SS officer, mercilessly whipping the inferior slave who had no right to live.

But unbeknownst to the observers, tears fell from his eyes, mingling among the raindrops, as the heavens wept for the injustice of not only C2, but also the millions of men, women, and children in the vast lands of Europe who had all become wretches with the birth of the red swatstika.

. . .

5 times the sun rose since that day, and 5 times C2 woke up, her back throbbing. The scars were held closed by thin tissue and she ached when she moved her arms extensively. Through some luck though, she managed to keep her role as pianist to the lagerkommandanten.

And so, although they healed slowly and painfully, the wounds brought upon her by the whip weren't disturbed in any major way.

Everyday, as she went to the commander's villa to perform for hours on end, she would see the tall, slim officer who had dirtied his hands with her torture. His violet eyes would flicker to her for a moment before moving away, his expression unreadable.

She averted her gaze from him as much as possible; it wasn't that she blamed him. No; he had simply acted on orders… Right?

Regardless, she couldn't bring herself to hate him… How could she? As forbidden and disgusting as it seemed, she had grown attached to those moody and brooding amethyst orbs, the lean and proud figure as he stood at attention, his crisp voice, the subtlety and deliberation in his words and actions.

She loved him.

So how could she blame him? Hate him? Curse him?

But it was still a surprise, when, at the end of the day, she ordered not to join go to her barrack after the final roll call and dinner, but to the quarters of the high-ranking SS officers. There, she was to wait until someone came to take her away. If she were to escape, she was warned, she would suffer through the most horrendous type of punishment available which included days of no food, little water, little rest, and plenty of hard, manual labor, along with the inclusion of pleasuring the guards in the most primitive way possible.

She didn't try to run or hide. Obediently, she made her way to the large brick buildings, until she realized she didn't know where she was to wait and how and for what length of time… What was she to do? If she did the wrong thing, it could bring another 50 lashes on her already delicate back… The very thought made her wince.

Nervously, she stood by the front doors, straight as a board. She could see the rest of her fellow prisoners being ushered into the barracks. What would happen if a guard saw her? Would they shoot her? What was she to tell them if they interrogated her, demanding to know why she had broken rank? What if she were to die, or worse, what if they tried to-

"A-7630. Inside. Now."

"Y-yes sir."

Afraid that he would resort to violence if she didn't act fast enough, she hurried past the soldier and dashed into the warm building. She was pushed towards a long staircase, in which she stumbled on the first step. Clambering up, she rushed upwards, fearful of the heavy boots she heard behind her. On the second floor were rows and rows of beds.

The barracks.

"Not that way, stupid girl." he shoved her down a hallway to the left, in which there were only two doors on opposite sides. Opening the door on the left, he gestured impatiently for her to enter. Frightened, she obeyed, only to stop short.

Inside was a richly furnished bedroom. On the bed were soft duvets. The polished floor dully reflected the light from the lamps on the bedside table and bureau. The dresser seemed to be carved from mahogany, and the windows had curtains of smooth material. Her sore feet sunk into the thick rug as she looked about with amazement.

Why had she been brought here, to this haven of luxury?

"Remove your dress." he ordered, speaking in her native tongue. She looked up at him with wide eyes, finally understanding why she had been called away.

"Maintenant."

_Now._

"… Ou-oui, Monsieur."

Taking a shaky breath, she slowly reached for the hem of her thin garment. Turning her back on him, she pulled it over her head and let it fall to the floor. Behind her, she could hear him open a drawer. She stood frozen, mortified by how exposed and vulnerable she was.

The sounds of his crisp uniform jacket's buttons snapping apart filled the room as he undressed. Trembling, she waited silently, not even daring to breath heavily.

She felt his bare hands touch her shoulders, gently pushing her towards the bed. Stumbling forward, she lay down, sinking into the thick, comfortable mattress. Her body involuntarily relaxed from contact; how long had it been since she had seen a proper bed, much less lay down on one? Maybe it wouldn't be so bad... At the very least, it would give her some reprieve from the hard and crammed wooden board that served as her bed.

"Be still." he ordered. Closing her eyes, she waited for him to begin, when instead, she felt something cool and moist being spread all over her back. She sighed involuntarily, when she remembered whose room she was in. She was about to get up, when she heard, "Sh… Ne bougez pas."

_Don't move_.

"Oui, Monsieur."

It wasn't until some time had passed when he said, "I put a poultice on your wounds. It will help with the pain and accelerate the healing process."

"…. Pourquoi êtes-vous m'aidez?"

_Why are you helping me?_

"Parce que je suis désolé."

_Because I'm sorry._

"Pour ce?"

_For what?_

He remained silent and unrolled the roll of cloth bandages. Murmuring, "Excusez-moi," he reached underneath her as he began to dress her wounds.

"Pour ce, Monsieur?"

_For what, sir?_

"Parce que je vous puni."

_Because I punished you._

Getting up from the bed, he handed her her dress, which she slipped back into.

"… Why do you care so much-"

"You will stay here for the remainder of the evening. You may sleep in the bed. I give you my word, I will not try to do, nor cause anything harmful to you."

"Monsieur."

He didn't look at her and merely went to his dresser.

"… Why have you, a high-ranking, respected Nazi SS officer called me, someone who has been spit on and whipped and worked to near death for my beliefs, to your very bedroom, only to tend to my wounds? What would motivate you to do something so dangerous?"

He merely poured himself a glass of brandy. Taking a small sip, he felt the burning sensation the alcohol left in his mouth and throat, before the sweetness settled in.

"It's funny, isn't it? Why would I concern myself with a trivial nun from France who has been branded as scum and trash? One who has been marked for death? Why would I?"

She stared at him.

"It could be because of pity. Pity for a young woman who was to die unjustly. Pity for someone who has always placed others before her. Pity for one whose eyes looked as if they were on fire, rebellious with the determination to survive."

"Pity…" he hung the stiff jacket of his military uniform.

"Yes… It began as pity… At first."

She remained silent, not wanting to do anything to anger him.

"… Do you forgive me? For what I've done to you?"

"… I was never angry at you."

"Why? I hurt you. I made you bleed. I tortured you."

She said nothing and only looked at him, her eyes giving him her reply.

'Parce que je t'adore.'

_'Because I love you.'_

He set down the glass slowly as he read the message in her eyes. After some time had passed, in which the only sound was the clock ticking, the raven-haired man said, "… Forgive me for what I'm about to do."

"Wha-"

He strode towards her, making her shy away. Kneeling in front of her, he moved her face so that she was looking at him.

"Ich liebe dich."he said gently.

He kissed her forehead.

"Je t'adore."

He kissed her cheek.

"… I love you."

He seemed to hesitate, before deciding that he had already waded in far enough and might as well just dive in.

Rising to his feet, he enveloped her hands with his as he bent down and captured her lips with his own, and in that single moment, his uniform, her persecution, their differences, and the burning swatstika vanished…

**A/N: Honestly, I seriously doubt the legitimate-ness of this all, but hey. We can all dream.**

**Ah, and also... My cold... I only have this horrible, hacking cough! But I'm back for the most part (mentally), so... Construction at The Crazy Coup will be taken up again! Hooray! And on a completely different note... I know that this chapter sucks, especially with the idea, and I did take it down, but you know what? If you hate it, then go on hating it.**


	17. Remember Your Promise

**A/N: Okay, so… Um… The ending note… Just… Um… IDK. I feel like I should tell you to ignore it, since it's just me ranting, but then someone will say: why bother putting it there then? So… It is your decision to read the ending note. But a warning; it's not… It's not a happy note, in a sense.**

**Disclaimer: Code Geass is not my property.**

"Remember your promise!" the Knight of Zero stalked out of the room, his cloak sweeping behind him. C2 followed him out while saying in a reproachful voice, "Suzaku."

"I am his sword. I rid him of his enemies and his own weakness," the brunette turned around to face the witch, "So, C2, you must become his shield. Protecting him is your duty."

Her eyes widened and she stared at his slowly retreating back, "That's only what you think."

"Lelouch is your accomplice, is he not?"

"My accomplice, huh?"

. . .

The door hissed open, allowing light to flood into the dark bedroom. C2, standing in the doorway, looked at Lelouch who was sitting dejectedly on their bed, with gentle eyes and said, "I'm impressed you maintained your mask even in front of Nunnally."

"No matter what angle I attack the problem from, the answer is always the same. That the conclusion I made that day wasn't wrong."

"Lelouch, haven't you done enough? You've done well." she sat down behind him. He replied, "You understand why I'm doing this evil, don't you? Besides, under the rules of Damocles, people will become lifeless symbols."

Leaning on his back, she pointed out, "But Nunnally is aboard Damocles. All you have done has been for her sake."

The Emperor straightened up and said with a determined expression, "I can't treat her differently anymore. We can't stop now, for the sake of all those who have died. Right, C2?" his voice faltered slightly, and the emerald-haired woman could feel his torment. Putting her hand gently on his, she answered softly, "Yes. You're right, Lelouch."

"…. Thank you, C2. For staying with me all this time."

He heard her laugh lightly and ask, "Where else would a witch be, then besides her warlock?" her grip tightened as she said the next few words, "… Where else would I be, then besides the one I love?"

His eyes widened at her words as she continued, "Win for everyone who has passed on, Lelouch. Win for Suzaku and Euphemia, win for Nunnally, for-"

"I will win… For you. So that people will no longer hurt you. So that you can smile in a peaceful world, with me…"

The corners of her lips tugged up, "That would be nice, wouldn't it?" but he heard her dismissive tone. She didn't believe him. How could she not believe him? He had swore that he wouldn't let her shed any tears anymore, that he would protect her, that he would keep her close to him, because he-

"I love you. C2." he rose from the bed, making her fall onto her back. Turning around to look down at her, he repeated, "I love you."

Her expression was one of surprise as he knelt besides the bed and whispered a promise to her, a vow, that he would fight for her so that she would no longer feel pain or loneliness.

Kissing her forehead, he murmured, "For you… So I can be with you."

He stood up and was about to leave, when he stumbled forward, C2 suddenly embracing him from behind.

"Remember your promise, Lelouch."

He put his hands on top of hers, silently reassuring her that he wouldn't forget. Couldn't forget.

His pledge to Nunnally.

His pledge to the world.

His pledge… To her.

'No…' he thought to himself as he swept down the halls of the Avalon, 'I can't stop now… For Rolo. For Shirley, for Euphemia, for Nunnally… For C2. For C2… I must continue on and destroy this cycle of hatred, this world of prejudice, this insufferable injustice… For the world hasn't only wronged me, but also her, my witch… My queen. I won't allow anyone to hurt anything more that's precious to me.'

'For C2… I will forevermore remember my promise.'

**To Whom It May Concern: **

**I know I've said this before. That I was considering deactivating my account. And I really did appreciate everyone's encouragement. I truly did. But unfortunately, self-doubt does not go away so easily as one would wish it would. I… To be honest, I don't feel qualified to write. I may have been, once, in the beginning. But not now. Not anymore. Now, I am thinking of just not writing altogether. Let me give you a prime example of the deterioration of my writing.**

**A Thousand Cranes. I wrote half of the epilogue, the part about C2's nightmare in June. I then left it alone and wrote the latter half extremely recently. Many, many of those who read it before I took it down said that they liked the first half, but not so much the second half.**

**The Crazy Coup. When was the last time I wrote a chapter for that one? I stare at the computer screen, wondering what the hell (excuse my language) I'm supposed to write. I'm **_**afraid**_** to write. Because I don't want to ruin it. Because I know that once I do write, I'm going to destroy all of that hard work I put into it.**

**If Only Life Were Gentler. Well that one's just complete BS. It's slow. The character establishment is shoddy, as is the setting, and the plot… Oh Lord. The plot isn't going anywhere.**

**That, along with the scarcity of creativity I'm having… IDK what's in store for the future. I really don't. And yes; last time was a false alarm. And I'm sorry. And I'm sure I look like an attention-seeking arse. I feel like one. But I'm raising the red flag once again (or is it the white one?) because then I'd be a really big arse for just disappearing off the face of the Internet.**

**And so… With that… Thank you for being such a wonderful and kind patron to such a… A "depressed", self-absorbed "writer". You're truly a patient and warm-hearted person. Thank you.**

**Prima**


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